(The Center Square) – A U.S. senator is pressing the military to address issues surrounding delays and poor communication concerning military moves ahead of peak moving season.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., contacted Gen. Randall Reed, commander of the U.S. Transportation Command – commonly known as USTRANSCOM – based at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., regarding military members and their families experiencing delays and “poor communication” from the contractor charged with coordinating transporting household goods.
Warner is urging immediate action to address “the failures” reported by over 1,000 military families. These include missed household goods pickups, delivery issues and communication issues with HomeSafe Alliance, the contractor responsible for the moves.
“My constituents and press reporting indicate that HomeSafe Alliance is struggling to support military moves in a timely and predictable manner, calling into question performance on the contract, and ultimately degrading the readiness of our nation’s servicemembers and their families,” Warner wrote in a letter to Reed. “As the military community enters the permanent change of station (PCS) peak season, it is essential that our servicemembers and their families have logistical support they need to meet the mission.”
Warner added that he was told by the director of the Defense Personal Property Management Office at USTRANSCOM that “failures on a program this size, in the midst of transformation, are ‘to be expected.’”
Warner is requesting a briefing with USTRANSCOM to discuss how it plans to resolve the issues and to ensure the contractor “fulfills its obligations in a timely and efficient manner.”
In September 2023, USTRANSCOM announced that the government had developed a system called MilMove, which allows customers to initiate a request for their moves to be scheduled. HomeSafe Alliance created HomeSafe Connect to be used by customers and the government to manage and track shipments after they are initially sent from MilMove.
USTRANSCOM awarded HomeSafe Alliance, a consortium of companies, a $6.2 billion contract that could potentially be worth up to $17.9 billion over nine years, according to Military Times.
Peak permanent change of station season typically occurs between May and September. Over 400,000 service members permanent change of station each year, according to Military OneSource. Virginia is home to one of the country’s largest service member populations, including the largest Navy base in the world.
