Global Household Goods Contract domestic phase-in to begin in April

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — The Defense Personal Property Management Office (DPMO) at U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), in coordination with military service and U.S. Coast Guard headquarters leadership, has selected 14 initial domestic installations to be the first to award shipments under the new GHC program, where HomeSafe Alliance is the prime vendor. These installations are supported by shipping offices located within five main geographical areas – Norfolk, Va., Jacksonville, N.C., Seattle/Tacoma, Wash., Camp Pendleton, Calif. and San Diego, Calif. 

As of April 1, 2024, transportation offices servicing the following installations can issue task orders for local government-arranged household goods shipments under GHC:

1. Naval Station Norfolk 
2. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune 
3. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point 
4. Naval Base Kitsap 
5. Naval Station Everett 
6. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island 
7. U.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle 
8. Joint Base Lewis-McChord 
9. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
10. Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego 
11. Naval Base San Diego
12. Naval Base Ventura County – Port Hueneme
13. Naval Air Station Lemoore

U.S. Coast Guard Base Portsmouth is on track to be added to the list before the beginning of May, meaning 14 total installations will be phased in and able to schedule GHC shipments this spring. 

Local shipments are those which are packed, picked up, and delivered in the same local area and usually are conducted due to a housing assignment (i.e., assignment to or from quarters/barracks/dorms), service member’s retirement, separation, or other special circumstances (i.e., permanent change of station orders extension/revocation, commander-approved requests, etc.). Once moves have been executed successfully according to contract requirements, and more information technology capabilities are available, USTRANSCOM and the military services plan to gradually increase volume and add interstate moves for these initial locations over the coming months.

DOD does not plan to add additional locations during the upcoming peak season (May 15 through Aug. 31), and will only order a limited number of domestic shipments under GHC from the locations phased-in this spring. This means most service members and their families will move under the current household goods program, not under GHC, during the 2024 peak moving season. 

“Starting with such a low volume, provides us the opportunity to ensure our systems and processes are working smoothly before they affect a larger group of service members and families,” said Andy Dawson, DPMO Director. “We will monitor these initial moves closely to identify and address any performance issues quickly, and use feedback we receive from service members, making adjustments as needed to ensure GHC is delivering quality customer service.”

DOD will maintain ongoing control over the pace of GHC phase-in, gradually increasing shipments and locations over time based on the quality of performance under GHC. Compared to the total monthly average of domestic DOD shipments (based on three years of historic domestic data), the goal for initial GHC phase-in across the selected locations will total less than 1% through July 2024 and less than 2% in August 2024. 

At the conclusion of the 2024 peak moving season, DOD will continue increasing GHC volume and capabilities at the initial phase-in locations as well as expanding to other locations across the United States. Projected volume under GHC will be 4% for September, 10% for October and November, and 20% for December. DOD will continue increasing the volume of domestic GHC shipments into 2025, until domestic phase-in is complete. 

International shipments under GHC will begin no earlier than September 2025, with a similar gradual phase-in of locations and shipment volume. All plans for GHC phase-in are subject to change and USTRANSCOM will share updated timelines and locations as they become available.  

Initial local shipments under GHC will be identified using a new online questionnaire on the Defense Personal Property System (DPS) landing page, which can be accessed via the Moving Your Personal Property page at www.militaryonesource.mil/personalproperty. All customers who submit a new shipment request will be directed to complete this questionnaire, regardless of their location. If a shipment is selected for GHC, the customer will automatically be directed to two new online systems – DOD’s MilMove and HomeSafe Alliance’s HomeSafe Connect – in place of DPS. 

Customers selected for a GHC shipment will onboard using MilMove, where they will upload their PCS orders, share contact information, and submit a requested pickup date for a government-arranged move. After a shipment order is sent from MilMove to HomeSafe, customers will be referred to HomeSafe Connect to manage and track their shipment through the household goods shipment lifecycle. Both MilMove and HomeSafe Connect are user-friendly systems designed to provide an improved online experience accessible via a computer or handheld device. 

Over the past year, USTRANSCOM has worked to prepare all impacted stakeholders, including customers, appropriate U.S. government personnel, and the moving industry for the changes GHC will bring to the Defense Personal Property Program (DP3). USTRANSCOM has been conducting change management activities with the impacted DOD workforce, including training workshops, open dialogue sessions, and informational product development and distribution to inform and educate household goods stakeholders. 

USTRANSCOM conducted site readiness validation events March 14-15 to confirm with the military services the locations identified for initial moves under GHC were ready. The phase-in plan was also reviewed and rehearsed by the initial sites with joint and local transportation offices worldwide at a GHC DOD “Days of Dialogue” event on March 21. Site validation and training with transportation offices will continue until GHC is fully phased in.

GHC is a significant change for industry providers operating under the current household goods program and USTRANSCOM has conducted regular engagements with them as well. On March 20, USTRANSCOM hosted its semi-annual DOD Personal Property Forum where it shared its plan to operate both GHC and the current tender of service program domestically during the 2024 peak moving season.

“Industry partners who provide quality moving services have an opportunity to continue to work with DOD under GHC,” said Dawson. “We welcome industry’s participation as we execute this historic transformation to improve the moving experience for our service members and their families. The GHC concept has been in the works for many years, and we are thrilled to finally begin offering it to our service members and their families. We hope they are excited to use all the new features and tools and are pleased with a much smoother, modern, and overall improved experience offered by GHC.”

Customers can find more information about scheduling an upcoming move at the Moving Your Personal Property page on the Military OneSource website (www.militaryonesource.mil/personalproperty). The webpage provides all the latest information for customers, no matter if they will move under the current program or GHC. Military OneSource also has a webpage dedicated to GHC, where readers can learn more about the program, how it will improve the relocation experience, and phase-in plans (www.militaryonesource.mil/GHC).

About USTRANSCOM

U.S. Transportation Command is a warfighting combatant command that projects and sustains military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. USTRANSCOM underwrites the lethality of the joint force, advances American interests around the globe, and provides our nation’s leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options while creating dilemmas for our adversaries.