This year and every year, 300,000 dedicated military families will move across the country and around the world. These moves strain their resources, their emotions, and their time. They deserve a seamless, secure, and hassle-free experience. In a move reminiscent of the disastrous privatization of military housing, the Department of Defense is outsourcing military household moves to a single inexperienced private entity through the new Global Household Contract (GHC) – which will leave our military families woefully underserved. 

The Defense Department’s Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) coordinates the domestic and international movements of our troops, including their personal household items. Under a troubled new contract that has suffered multiple delays from poor planning and faulty technology, TRANSCOM has tasked a private entity – one that’s never handled a military move – with coordinating all PCS (permanent change of station) moves.

The new business model and fee structure are so unrealistic that many respected and road-tested professional moving companies with experience in military relocations they're unable to sign on for a variety of reasons not limited to complicated new regulatory requirements, compensation, unrealistic liability burdens, inability to allow for much needed flexibility for their business models.

After awarding the contract to the least experienced bidder rather than to the best providers, it’s clear that over the past two years of a failed transition, the structure of the GHC is not a viable path forward for industry or Servicemembers.

Our active-duty military and their families sacrifice so much for our country – they shouldn’t have to sacrifice an efficient, quality system for moving their personal belongings when relocating to a new mission posting. A closer analysis of the potential impacts on military families, moving professionals, and American competitiveness is urgently needed.