About Movers for America

Movers for America is a coalition of companies, moving professionals, and independent owner-operators dedicated to supporting our active-duty military families as they relocate across the country and around the world. We support a viable, competitive industry and an outstanding moving experience for all families.

Core Principles for Future DOD Moving Program

Elements of a Successful Program:

A Tender-based Environment – A FAR-based contract that applies the Service Contract Act is in direct conflict with the way the moving and storage industry fundamentally operates. A tender-based program allows for critical flexibility needed by industry.

Opportunity and Flexibility for Technological Innovation – Future program models should incorporate the flexibility needed to adopt and integrate emerging technologies such as customer-facing apps and real-time shipment tracking to enhance the moving experience and operational efficiency. Many companies already possess these platforms and could integrate them immediately if allowed by the government.

Shipment Distribution Rooted in Awarding Shipments to Highest Performers – Shipments should be awarded to licensed, legally compliant moving companies based on consistently high customer satisfaction ratings, reinforcing a system that rewards demonstrated performance. Metrics for shipment distribution should be transparent and shared with industry and customers.

Program Based on Data-Driven Metrics – Strengthen its data collection and analytics capabilities to inform shipment distribution and accurate industry shipment pricing, ensuring that decisions are grounded in real-time measurable performance outcomes and operational metrics.

Program Transparency – The DOD should continue to implement measures to ensure complete transparency on customer satisfaction, TSP ratings, on-time performance, and more for all entities that participate in the movement of household goods.

The Issue

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.

Driving the Issue

TRANSCOM points to low satisfaction rates as the need for a new system. But data tell a different story.

WHAT TRANSCOM IS SAYING WHAT MILITARY FAMILIES ARE SAYING
(independent scientific survey of nearly 950 military families)
WHAT TRANSCOM'S OWN PUBLIC DASHBOARD IS SAYING
  • The satisfaction rate among troops and their families was 78% in 2023.
  • So far in 2024, the satisfaction rate has risen to 83%.
  • Nearly 90% say their recent military relocations met or exceeded expectations.
  • About 85% are concerned about GHC's potential negative impacts on military families.
  • 89% of military families were satisfied with the current system during the 2023 peak season (June through August).
  • So far in 2024, the satisfaction rate has risen to 93%.

TRANSCOM’s new contract is NOT REASONABLE for trusted and road-tested professional moving companies – that’s why so many have refused to sign on.

moving

A Disservice to our Service Men and Women

TRANSCOM’s proposed transition to a privatized system for PCS moves is the epitome of government waste – throwing good money after bad with no benefit to our service men and women or to the taxpayers. While our military families feel the pinch directly, the new system will also hurt American businesses, provide inadequate resources, and increase our vulnerability to national security risks.

Increases Burdens and Costs for our Military Families

TRANSCOM promised improvements and greater efficiencies, yet has delivered the opposite so far for the approximately 300,000 service members and their families who move each year. 

Faulty technology, inexperienced leadership, and a lack of participating moving companies could force military families to handle their own moves, organizing everything themselves and fronting the costs. Unvetted and untested moving services could result in significant relocation delays that unnecessarily keep family members apart or slow school enrollment for children, adding stress for military spouses forced to take control of a service that should be handled for them. 

Creates a Tax-Wasting Boondoggle

The project is way behind schedule – and TRANSCOM just invested an extra $60 million to “buy” another year-long delay. There were about 150,000 domestic PCS moves during 2023, and if the private entity overseeing all PCS moves conducts just 1% of all domestic moves over the year, TRANSCOM will unnecessarily spend an additional $40,000 per move in taxpayer funds. To put this in perspective, this is four to five times the average cost of a move today.

The current Defense Personal Property System encourages competition among safe, quality moving companies, with the goal of ensuring that our military members’ personal items arrive on base, on time, and intact. As the saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In this case, it ain’t broke, so don’t break it.

Hurts American Businesses and Lacks Resources

TRANSCOM’s new contract is a competition killer – and like many other problematic DOD contracts, it shapes market trends to create an industry monopoly, with excessive barriers to entry and a cascade of consequences. Bureaucratic complexity and rates that are too low to support viable competition will drive freedom-loving independent owner-operators out of business. 

While the inexperienced and untested contractor in control of the program will make a profit, American businesses, truckers, and independent contractors will be hurt or driven out of business, with the inevitable consequence of penalizing the men and women serving our country.

Increases Risks to National Security

Hostile foreign governments have long targeted highly sensitive information about our military operations, troop movements, and military personnel and their families. Outsourcing this military relocation program to just a single private company relying on undetermined subcontractors could make U.S. military movements and service families’ private information that much more vulnerable to data breaches and cyberattacks.

TRANSCOM's new PCS system for military families is

DELIVERING LESS TO OUR BEST

Recent News

Media Inquiries:

UPDATES from PCS Task Force Meeting

Last week, the PCS Task Force held its long-awaited Industry Day — and Movers for America was there. Executive Director…

Read More

Column: Outsourcing Military Moves Was A Disaster. Let’s Get It Right

For years, military families and the moving professionals who proudly serve them have sounded the alarm on the Global Household Goods Contract (GHC).

Read More

Next Stop: Scott AFB

Next Tuesday, August 12, movers are gearing up for the PCS Joint Task Force’s Industry Day at Scott Air Force Base. Make no mistake: This could be a big moment.

Read More

Movers for America has hired an independent, third-party agency to gather facts and compile information that is shared with users who access this website. Movers for America, this website, or the information contained on this website is intended to provide general, factual information and is not produced with the intent to directly or indirectly influence any decisions or behaviors of those who access the website or information. The facts and information contained on this website are made available for website users’ independent use, interpretation, and verification.

Scroll to Top