Reduce the stress from a PCS

  • Published
  • By Joint Personal Property Shipping Office
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  With the moving season fast approaching, officials from the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office Northeast offer several tips to make the process easier for military families facing a permanent change of station.

The goal of JPPSO is to provide military families with the necessary information to assist them during this exciting and stressful time. In order to accomplish this, JPPSO officials ask for service members' assistance.

"Everyone wants to move during the summer, especially at the end of a month or week," said Russell DePietro, JPPSO deputy director. "Unfortunately there is only so much carrier capacity available and if it becomes booked up, service members need to have an alternate plan."

DePietro offers these tips to assist in achieving the desired dates:

· When possible, try to schedule move dates on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Avoid Monday and Friday.

· Avoid the last week of any month as delays and cancelations increase due to the sheer volume of moves.

· Provide JPPSO counselors legible orders and documents.

· Start working on securing move dates immediately after actual PCS orders are in hand. Any delay will limit JPPSO's ability to accommodate service members' preferred dates.

· Provide JPPSO counselors alternate move out dates that are at least two weeks out from the original date.

· Be aware that based on carrier capacity, JPPSO may need to utilize origin storage in order to get property picked up. If so, this could delay or add time to destination delivery.

· If pressed for time, seek alternate modes or sources of transportation such as a Personally Procured Move (formerly known as a Do-It-Yourself Move).

· Avoid making major decisions or commitments until move dates are confirmed with the Transportation Service Provider or carrier.

DePietro stressed that JPPSO will utilize all resources available in an effort to accommodate service members during a PCS move, but adds that a service member's flexibility and involvement is critical throughout the stressful moving process.

For further information, contact 800-235-7776 or the Traffic Management Office at 781-225-6399.