There are positive signs emerging about the troubled new system for moving service members’ household goods.
Officials have seen a decline in the number of inconvenience claims being filed by service members for out-of-pocket expenses they incurred because of delays in shipments being picked up or delivered, said Air Force Gen. Randall Reed, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, in testimony Tuesday.
“As we continue to look at performance, and [the contractor responds] to shortfalls we had seen before, we have seen within the last few weeks the number of those claims declining,” Reed said.
The contractor, HomeSafe Alliance, has resolved 100% of the claims, he said. HomeSafe was chosen as the contractor for the Global Household Goods Contract, or GHC, which TRANSCOM started gradually implementing in April 2024.
A drop in these inconvenience claims, which are tied to delays, implies delays are becoming more infrequent. Inconvenience claims are separate from claims for lost or damaged belongings.
“While there’s still work to go, we’re actually getting improvements we’re seeking,” Reed said during a joint hearing of the House Armed Services Committee panels on Readiness and Seapower and Projection Forces.
HomeSafe has experienced difficulties with getting enough movers to pack, load, truck and unload service members’ belongings, as a number of companies in the industry have declined to participate in GHC, citing lower rates paid for the work than under the legacy system.
A number of lawmakers expressed concerns about the quality of moves for service members.
“As summer approaches, many thousands of service members and their families will be moving under a program that has not quite proven capable of meeting capacity needs,” said Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash.
Constituents, including service members, have contacted Strickland with stories about the stress, financial impact and failed moves under the new contract, she said. Service members told her office of significant out-of-pocket expenses related to delayed moves and last-minute changes.
In response to a question from Strickland about what TRANSCOM does to help people in those situations, Reed said service members who experience delays can file inconvenience claims with HomeSafe for reimbursements.
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Following reports of issues with military moves, TRANSCOM officials said they no longer expect to fully transition all domestic shipments into GHC by the April to May timeframe, as previously planned. Spring marks the start of the busier moving season for military families.
Although TRANSCOM continues to award shipments to HomeSafe Alliance, it’s adjusting the volume awarded to the company. Reducing the number of shipments is one option to try to avoid problems for military families.
The new GHC system aims to fix long-standing problems with missed pickup and delivery dates, broken and lost items and issues with claims. It consolidates management — and accountability — under the single contractor, HomeSafe, while TRANSCOM maintains oversight. Under the legacy system, TRANSCOM deals individually with more than 800 moving companies.
Because of HomeSafe’s IT system and its interaction with TRANSCOM technology, officials can see what’s happening in the program in a way they couldn’t before — and identify problems and trends, working with the contractor in real time to fix them, Reed said.
“Because GHC is reshaping how we move service members, their families and their memories, we remain in close collaboration with the services to identify and and take action to resolve issues,” Reed said.
“While it has not been an easy path, and there have been issues, there should be no doubt we will see this through [for] the fellow service members and their families who deserve an improved moving experience, and we are going to deliver on this experience.”
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
