NORFOLK, Va. — Before recent changes, the Department of Defense contracted numerous moving companies to assist military families with their relocations — now, they have fewer options.
Reports of delays and higher moving costs led moving companies and military families alike to express frustration over these recent DoD changes.
Taya Sissix is doing what she can to prepare for her family’s upcoming move.
“We’re fairly certain that the Army is not going to cover everything for us," Sissix said.
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At the time News 3 interviewed her, she was stationed at Fort Eustis but was going to be moving to Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
“It’s extremely stressful," Sissix said about the moving process.
The Department of Defense consolidated their moving options by contracting HomeSafe Alliance to help military families move. Families can now either have HomeSafe Alliance handle the move or they can do it themselves.
Before HomeSafe Alliance, when a family handled their move themselves the amount of money they would get for reimbursement from the government was often more than the cost to move.
That means families would actually make money by moving themselves because they could keep the extra money.
But now, for many families that’s not the case.
“Some people are only getting 26, 33 cents a pound," Sissix explained.
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Sissix said many families are finding out the money they get under the new contract with Home Safe Alliance is not even enough to cover the cost of renting a truck. Regardless, because of the changeover, Sissix said families aren't able to accurately estimate how much money they'll get as they plam their move.
“It makes it that much more difficult to plan for," said Sissix.
She added some families go into debt and put their moving expenses on a credit card. At the time of the interview, she thought her family would be one of those.
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“We have been trying to set aside some money, but in this economy it’s really difficult to save," Sissix said.
If families can’t get enough money to cover the cost of moving and don’t want to pay out of pocket for the rest or can’t afford to pay out of pocket, they can go through HomeSafe Alliance.
It’s a cheaper option because HomeSafe Alliance sub-contracts moving companies to do the work for less money than what companies would otherwise charge.
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To further understand the issue, News 3 visited a moving company in Norfolk where items from military families were being packed up and loaded onto trucks to be moved.
“It just doesn’t make sense for our company to be able to maintain our warehouse and our trucks and take care of our employees at a loss," said Security Storage and Van President Donna Overstreet.
Overstreet explained the amount of money HomeSafe Alliance is offering is not enough for moving companies to be able to make a profit.
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Companies like Overstreet's have a long history of working with the DoD — Now, she will have to stop and find other ways to make money.
“We have no intention of going out of business at this point, and that’s probably what it would do to us the next couple of years if we did sign up," Overstreet said.
Fewer moving companies available to move military families could lead to delays in getting families moved.
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When News 3 visited Security Storage and Van's warehouse, Overstreet said the company had recently picked up two moves after being contacted by area bases saying HomeSafe Alliance didn't get the moves done when they were supposed to.
Aside from delays, families have also reported other problems when going through Home Safe Alliance.
News 3 talked with representatives from multiple moving companies that have a long history of helping military families move and all expressed frustration and concern with the new system.
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"It's just disappointing. These men and women deserve better. They are serving us throughout the country and they deserve better," said Hilldrup President and CEO Charles McDaniel. "What was supposed to be a better plan is, in fact, a much worse plan."
"There's definitely a misconception being put out there that we are overcharging the Department of Defense for the moving services that we perform. Speaking from my experience here at our company, that couldn't be further from the truth," added Pullen Moving Company Dispatcher Tom Matters. "The service members and their families are currently having some difficulties. You're well aware of those. That doesn't happen this time of year in non-peak."
The group Movers for America advocating for moving companies across the country.
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"We are educating lawmakers on Capitol Hill every single week about the challenges, the new things we're hearing," said Movers for America representative Katie McMichael. "A lot of it is to sound the alarm because when we enter peak season that's when half of the moves occur, from April until about August, and we're very concerned with service members and the kind of quality they're going to be up against if they can even get moved at all."
News 3 reached out to HomeSafe Alliance.
A company spokesperson said no one was available for an interview and declined to say how much money the company is offering sub-contracted moving companies.
The spokesperson sent News 3 a statement, though, acknowledging there have been delays and saying, in part, "We are working with U.S. Transportation Command to resolve issues and maintain a conditions-based phase-in of the new program.”
HomeSafe Alliance is modernizing, digitizing, and transforming the relocation experience for military members and their families through the new Global Household Goods Contract (GHC). Military families and Congress demanded this historic transformation to address long-standing issues with the old military move system. The new GHC program brings innovative technology to streamline the move process, a 24/7 customer care center to support military families, and strict requirements to ensure accountability and high-quality move services.
In these early and developmental stages of the GHC, logistical challenges have caused delays for some moves. We apologize to every affected family. Over the last month, HomeSafe has made significant progress in strengthening our network, and we continue to pursue every available option for growing our capacity. We are working with U.S. Transportation Command to resolve issues and maintain a conditions-based phase-in of the new program.
HomeSafe is taking all the lessons learned and continually improving our systems and processes, including enhancing our customer care operations, updating our technology platform, reshaping our training program for service providers, and hiring additional employees.
“I have heard about this, I believe from the media," said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner.
Warner sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Command, asking for answers to several questions related to the issues families have reported.
“These private contracts that we give out, whether it’s on movement of service members or housing of service members, they do not have strict enough oversight," Warner said.
In response, U.S. Transportation Command sent News 3 a statement, acknowledging the letter.
"U.S. Transportation Command is aware of Senator Warner's letter and greatly appreciates the Senator's concerns regarding the implementation of the Global Household Goods Contract. General Reed and U.S. TRANSCOM remain committed to delivering an improved moving experience to our service members and their families, and will respond to the questions posed in the letter.”
Keith Enty is a work and family life consultant who helps military families navigate the moving process. He said his workload has doubled now that the DoD has begun to work with HomeSafe Alliance.
"I don't think people realize every single person in the military, no matter what branch, no matter what rank they're going to relocate. So I think that is a dire need and something that needs to be paid close attention to," Enty said.
He's not a fan of the new system, but as a veteran, he still loves helping families.
"It really feels amazing and feels like I'm still serving," Enty said.
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Still, it's just a small step toward addressing a much bigger problem. One that may get even bigger as HomeSafe Alliance was expected to handle all domestic military moves, around 150,000 to be exact, by May 2025.
"I do hope that people hear us and that our voices are heard throughout legislation. Because while this has affected hundreds of families already, it has not affected the thousands of families coming up [in 2025] who are going to move of the tens of thousands of families over the next few years as this contract goes on," said Sissix. "This is not just an issue right now. The will be an issue for years to come and it’s going to affect the DoD for years to come until they find a solution.”
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The moving companies News 3 talked with said the Government Accountability Office was looking into the issue and was expected to have a report out in the fall.
The moving companies would like the DoD to pause the new contract with HomeSafe Alliance and continue the old way of helping families move until that report comes out. In the meantime, a petition with thousands of signatures and counting is trying to raise awareness about this issue, answering the calls for change.
