NORFOLK, Va. — Changes are being made to try to improve the process military families go through when they have to move to a new duty station.
“Just what happened last night, to me, is a very monumental turn in the industry," said Security Storage & Van President Dona Overstreet.
Overstreet is referring to the news the head of U.S. Transportation Command has been fired.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the move in a video posted on X Wednesday morning.
It’s moving season for many of our service members.We understand that the process is difficult and needs to be fixed.That’s why we are overhauling the PCS process to make it easier for our service members and their families. pic.twitter.com/xTfCzz9Gh0
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 21, 2025
“One thing we know is we’re heading into peak season for moving, PCS moving, and that process, I know, has been a mess," Hegseth said in the video.
The Department of Defense is trying to transition to a new system to handle moves, but that has created a lot of headaches and concerns for both families and moving companies.
Hegseth said in a memo outlining his changes some moves that had been set up under the new system are now being put back into the old system, which has worked for decades and is still being used during the transition.
Watch: Military families, moving companies pushing for change amid rollout of new DoD moving process
But Overstreet said that doesn’t completely solve the problem for moving companies.
“This decision was made so late that none of us actually ramped up because we were told we weren’t going to get shipments this summer," Overstreet explained.
Overstreet said as of Wednesday companies were working as fast as they could to prepare for the influx of moves.
Even if companies had already started preparing, though, Overstreet said the old system won’t work because it’s become financially unsustainable for companies just like the new system.
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Under the new system, the Department of Defense is contracting with a company called HomeSafe Alliance.
The company subcontracts moving companies to handle the actual moves. Moving companies say the amount of money HomeSafe Alliance is offering is not enough to keep them in business.
Many moving companies are choosing to only participate in the old system, known as the legacy system, as long as they can while the Department of Defense works to phase it out. Consequently, HomeSafe Alliance has had to give thousands of moves back to be handled by the legacy system because the company can't get enough moving companies willing to be subcontractors to handle the moves.
The legacy system has been able to handle the moves because, up until now, moving companies were able to negotiate their rates and get enough money to justify doing the work and were therefore willing to participate in the legacy system.
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Overstreet said when her company went through the negotiation process for the 2025 season to continue to participate in the legacy program, however, she found her offer wasn't accepted until it was similar to what the contract for the new system offers. She said other companies have had the same experience.
"We had to create a higher discount, a discount we really couldn't afford to sustain," Overstreet said.
That's why the legacy system, like the new system, is now also financially unsustainable for moving companies.
So, if the new system and the old system won’t work, what happens now?
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“What I did, like many companies did, is we increased our sales staff because we expected these military moves were going to move into the COD market, which is the consumer market. That’s what’s happening," said Overstreet.
As of Wednesday, she was hopeful the DoD would soon adjust the legacy system to make it feasible for companies to again participate in.
In the meantime, to help Hegseth has increased the amount of money families will get for reimbursement from the Department of Defense if they choose to move themselves. Moving themselves means hiring a moving company on their own to handle the move. They'll get 130 percent of what they would get if they used the new system and worked through HomeSafe Alliance to handle their move.
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As News 3 has reported, families have been finding if the legacy system has been phased out at their installation and is no longer an option, and they want to move themselves to avoid having to deal with HomeSafe Alliance, they won’t get enough money to move themselves. That leaves many families with no choice but to work through HomeSafe Alliance.
Wednesday, Virginia U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet released statements on Hegseth's actions. A news release from Sen. Warner's office said the three Senators had been working for months to get changes.
“Military members and their families sacrifice so much in service to our country, including every time they relocate and integrate into a new community. After pushing for months, we’re pleased to see the Department of Defense move to address ongoing challenges with the contract tasked with moving household goods for military members and families in the process of relocating. As these policy changes are implemented, we will continue to work with the Department of Defense and TRANSCOM to ensure that servicemembers and military families who are already well into the relocation process are not left in the lurch. Additionally, as these shifts put more pressure on federal employees to adapt to this change, we will continue to push for adequate federal staffing levels and against Trump’s senseless hiring freeze, which continues to prevent critical positions from being filled across government.”
A taskforce is being created, Hegseth said, to address issues moving forward.
“We’re going to review the entire PCS process and recommend rapid actions inside the department for the best possible moving experience," said Hegseth.
Overstreet said while families will now be able to at least afford to move themselves, she anticipated this creating a shortage of moving trucks to rent as families try to move themselves throughout the 2025 moving season.
Moving season runs from May 15 to September 30.
