PCS Moves Season Approaches

With roughly a quarter million Department of Defense and Coast Guard households expected to move to new duty stations this summer, the Defense Department is offering tips to help ensure that transfers go as smoothly as possible. Families should begin the moving process as soon as they receive permanent-change-of-station (PCS) orders, said the Army’s Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) Personal Property Directorate. It also makes sense to request pickup and delivery dates for household goods as soon as possible, to get a better shot of procuring desired dates. Defense Department service members and civilian employees can use two methods of managing their moves. The traditional method entails a visit to the base transportation office or personal property shipping office, which will offer a briefing on relocation and a start to the moving process. Also, a Web portal for the Defense Personal Property System offers one-stop shopping for moving information and needs. It is available at http://www.move.mil.