It’s PCS season, and for most of us, it is one of the most stressful things about military life. PCS, or Permanent Change of Station, can happen at any time in an Active Duty member’s career. However, its most common “season” falls from about May to August.
It seems to break down with most that the wife (or non Active Duty member) takes on most of the planning; hands-on organizing, packing, prepping the house, researching the gaining station, and tying up loose ends at the losing station. The husband (or Active Duty member) takes care of the military-specific aspects. These are anything from paperwork and orders, dealing with finance/TMO, a checklist to be cleared from their losing station, as well as anything specific to their job. Whether you have been a military spouse for ten years or ten months, you never know what’s going to happen during a PCS.
Let’s break down some terms and steps to help with the overwhelm, shall we?
TYPES OF PCS
There are three types of PCS moves. The first is a move you do completely yourself, known as a Personally Procured Move (PPM) — you may also hear this called a “DITY,” or do-it-yourself move. You hire the movers and you move the stuff. The second is one you completely let the military do. They hire the movers and move the stuff. The third is a combination of the two, called a Partial-PPM or Partial-DITY. A lot of people tend to make money off of these moves, but you have to be smart about it. The more weight you move and the farther you move, the more you may make back. Load your car. Get a roof rack and fill every nook and cranny. Partial is ideal for us (pets, kids) and we’ve been able to make more back by having the military set up movers, but moving as much stuff ourselves as we can.
IMPORTANT LINGO TO KNOW
CONUS – Continental United States (not including Alaska, Hawaii, or other US territories
OCONUS – Outside the Continental United States
BOP – Base of preference
PER DIEM – daily allotted pay military members receive while traveling on official duty assignments
MALT – Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation, this is a mileage reimbursement for members (via Privately Owned Vehicle, or POV) during their official travels
TLE – Temporary Lodging Expense, partial reimbursement for travel (lodging and meal expenses) while traveling or staying in temporary lodging
GTC – Government Travel Card
DPS – Defence Personal Property System, where the service member schedules the move with the transportation company
FDS – Final Duty Station
HHG – Household Goods, the things in your house that are being moved
TLF – Temporary Lodging Facility
ETP – Exception to Policy
RNLT – Report No Later Than
TMO – Traffic Management Office, office on base the service member goes to coordinate moving details
PLANNING
A lot of times you have an idea that a PCS is coming. While you can’t do anything permanent without hard orders in hand, you can plan, organize, and research! It’s helpful to research the cost of living, schools, jobs, medical needs, activities in places you may potentially end up.
Generally, the service member will deal with going on base to obtain the necessary approvals and paperwork, as well as schedule movers through TMO.
Once you do have hard orders you can decide whether you want to rent, buy, or live on base. If you choose to live in housing, call to get on the waitlist as soon as possible.
Coming up with a timeline helps, as well as to write it out. First identify what to do and when. For instance, “two months out – purge and declutter, one month out – make sure movers are booked, one week out – schedule childcare for moving day, the day before – prep a Do Not Pack room, day of – make sure to put away all valuables.”
ORGANIZING
Purge purge purge! Decluttering helps to streamline the packing and moving process. Many choose to create a binder with a copy of orders, hotel confirmation, vet paperwork (TLF requires proof of pets updated shots to stay there), and any other necessary legal information such as birth certificates, POA, etc. Before movers come, the bare minimum you have to do is nothing. But to make everything easier on everyone, there are some things you can do.
MOVE OUT
In most circumstances, you are likely moving from an apartment, a house, or on-base housing. If you are moving off base, you will need a move-out clean. You can either choose to pay someone to do it or do it yourself. TMO with reimburse to move from a house to on base, but not the other way around. Purge while on base because they don’t charge for bulk trash! If you are moving out of a house to PCS, you’ll need to list and sell at the right time. This varies for everyone, but you can talk to/interview a few local realtors in your area. They are the best resource in letting you know what the market is like, how fast your home may sell, and things to do to prepare it.
PACKERS ARE COMING!
Your service member should set up packers/movers through TMO ahead of time. Don’t be afraid to keep in touch. You can call beforehand to confirm they’re coming when they said they are a week or so in advance or ask questions. Obviously don’t call every day with every little thing, but they’re still working for you! Some may repack items or bins, but not all do. You can ask clarifying questions such as this. For a lot of specifics, it depends on the company. This may help you prepare for them. They were also more than helpful with my questions of what they would and wouldn’t pack or move. Some also prefer to take things off the wall and some don’t care. Overall, I try to streamline the process as much as possible. This makes it easier for everyone and helps make packing and unpacking go more smoothly.
PACKING PREP
Use space bags, plastic bags, containers, etc (clothing will be put in wardrobe boxes hung up). Packers will dump drawers into boxes and Rubbermaid bins into cardboard boxes. They do not care about organization or folding clothes neatly. Some take clothing out of dresser drawers. I like to pack dresser clothing in suitcases or bags to contain it. Most times they box mattresses. I recommend getting a waterproof plastic mattress protector or at least covering your mattresses in cheap sheets to protect them from getting dirty or damaged. No moldy mattresses here, thank you very much!
Before they show up, take pictures of everything and video things working. Take pictures of serial numbers, separate pro gear. You can even get a return address stamp or color-coded labels for the boxes. They will mark the boxes with inventory stickers and labels, so it’s just preference. But it doesn’t hurt on the unpacking end for easily directing movers to rooms when unloading.
The moving company will send out a surveyor before your move. They will estimate things like weight and answer any initial questions. They are generally decent at guessing HHG weight and will give you an allotment based on that and your service member’s rank (and then confirm a weight once your things are picked up and the truck is weighed). If you go overweight, you have to pay. Packers usually come for anywhere from 1-3 days, depending on how much you have and how efficient they are. They will let you know a basic packing timeline during your pre-move survey, and then more information about unloading on the day they actually load up. If you are doing a partial PPM, weigh your car completely empty before you start packing. You can do this the day before or so. I know a lot of people who are really intense about this (taking out car seats, spare tires, empty gas tank) but empty is fine.
PACKERS ARE HERE!
Have a do not pack room. Depending on the size of your space this may be a room or closet. We clear out the smallest room and put a mattress in there for the kids/pets for the packing days. The movers will automatically pack the mattresses on the last day so just let them know you have another one in there for their count.
Trash – they will pack your trash if you don’t put it away. We always used our outside garbage can, then had one black trash bag in the kitchen we made a note to tell them about and monitor. Valuables like car keys, purses, electronics, etc, either put in your cars or in the do not pack room.
Valuables – you should aim to move anything valuable (jewelry, smaller technology like laptops/computers, family heirlooms) myself, as well as firearms and important paperwork.
For some reason it’s a hot topic and opinion varies on whether you should buy them food and drinks or not. We do a case of water. Then we take one meal order a day for lunch to somewhere local or pizza. Honestly, just give them a choice of a couple of reasonably priced places and have them pick. Usually, there were anywhere from 2-5 people there depending on the day. When they load I also get a box of donuts for the morning. But it’s totally your preference on how much or how little you want to provide. We do not tip, but this is also heavily debated in the military spouse community! You can let the movers know what you want to be packed first and what you want to be packed last. Typically they’ll box/pack the mattresses the day of loading and TVs last and start with the kitchen because it’s time-consuming. I also ask to pack toys later on!
MOVING DAY/TRAVELING
Sometimes your things are put in storage, but sometimes you get lucky and have a door-to-door move. The military will only reimburse you for how many travel days you take, but your service member will be allotted a certain amount to get to their new duty station. If you sign in early, you won’t get reimbursed for the travel days you did not use. Keep receipts from gas, food, and lodging.
I don’t suggest having the movers unpack you as they will just throw everything out of boxes and fill up your counters and floors. They are obligated to put furniture and anything they took apart back together. This makes sure you have all parts and things aren’t broken. I also start unpacking some glassware/kitchen while they’re there. You’ll have packing paper everywhere and while you can post for people to take it, try to unpack some things then so you can give them the paper.
NEW BASE
The first few weeks at a new base, meet your neighbors, get the lay of the land, look into spouse group for squadron/page, and give yourself lots of grace to get adjusted to a new place.
OTHER IMPORTANT TIPS
Keep a binder, notebook, and place to keep important documents. I use a notebook with tabs for my lists and a handheld file organizer. The file is easier to stick in the car with important information. There are several specific resources for binders and how people choose to organize them, as well as printouts you can download. A friend includes a section for job searching in hers, including the other categories such as medical, gaining base/losing base info. Be sure to include a copy of orders.
- Check inventory sheets carefully, you may dispute conditions of things you don’t agree with
- Have Ziploc bags and sharpies for labeling small parts on moving day
- Have an open first box
- Bag kitchen drawers and any smaller parts together in 2-gallon bags to keep them from being dumped out
- Don’t forget to forward your mail and change any auto-shipments.No matter how or how much you plan, you can’t plan for everything. But those make good stories, right? Buckle up, and know that this too shall pass. You will rock it, WAF!
MEET KAILYN
