Being a member of the military means that you'll probably be moving around quite a bit, jumping from place to place every few years, depending on what your job entails. A PCS, or Permanent Change of Station, is fairly common in the military and involves packing up and moving you and your family from your current base to a new location. If you've never experienced a PCS before, receiving your orders can be overwhelming.
Read on to learn about the first things you should take care of when you receive your PCS orders and what you need to do to ensure you and your family have a successful military move.
Begin making arrangements for your move
Upon receiving your PCS orders, the first thing you should do is visit the transportation office located at your current base to discuss the details of the move and begin making the necessary arrangements, including what moving options are available for you. Depending on which branch of the military you are in, the office you will need to visit may vary:
- Department of Defense: If you are in the Department of Defense, you will need to visit the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office to arrange the details of your move.
- Air Force: Members of the Air Force will need to visit the Traffic Management Office.
- Army: Army service men and women will visit the Installation Transportation Office to discuss the specifics of their PCS move.
- Navy and Marine Corps: Navy and Marine Corps service members should visit the Personal Property Shipping Office upon receiving PCS orders.
- Coast Guard: Coast Guard members will visit the Household Goods Shipping Office prior to their move.
Contact your new location for information
Once you've visited with the government office on your base in charge of arranging your move, your next step is to contact your new base to learn more about the area. Each military location has what is called a "family center" that provides information about relocation assistance programs that offer moving help for military families. The family center can answer just about any question you have about the moving process, so if this is your first PCS, don't be afraid to ask. You can learn more about the community you are moving to and the amenities you can find there.
Get your finances in order
Moving is an expensive endeavor, and even though the government will reimburse you for many of your incurred moving costs during your PCS, you can still expect your bank account to take a substantial hit from all other peripheral moving-related expenses. To create a moving budget to determine what you'll need to spend and how much you are able to allocate to the move, you should visit the finance office on your base. Financial consultants can help you with the following:
- Figuring out what your moving options are. As with any normal move, a PCS move will present you with several options, including a DIY move or hiring a moving company to pack and move your belongings for you. The option you choose will largely depend on how much you have to put towards your move and how much money you will receive from the government to cover moving expenses.
Determine which government relocation benefits you are eligible for. As previously mentioned, the government will typically shell out for your larger moving expenses. You can also apply for several different entitlement programs which provide additional financial assistance for military families during a PCS move, depending on your situation.
- Build your moving budget and make a list of expenses. The finance office will help you structure your budget for your upcoming PCS so you can have a clear picture of your current financial situation and gain some insight into what you can expect to pay when your move rolls around. You should also create a list of possible moving expenses so that you can prepare yourself financially and avoid being hit with unexpected costs.
Notify your housing office of the move
If you are currently living in government-subsidized housing on your military installation, you'll need to contact the housing office to notify them of your scheduled move date so that they can make arrangements and prepare you to move out. You may need to clean the property before vacating and you should inquire about any other requirements necessary to complete the move-out process.
All in all, the most important thing to do when you receive your PCS orders is to begin planning and preparing for the move as soon as you can. Nothing beats proper planning when it comes to moving and there is no such thing as being too prepared.