ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Pentagon has awarded a $7.2 billion, multiyear contract to American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group as part of its efforts to improve permanent change-of-station moves for service members and their families, officials announced.

The Global Household Goods Contract, awarded April 30 after an open competition and review of the seven offers received, is a key step in a broader DoD effort to improve PCS moves as it integrates functions currently performed by hundreds of commercial entities. 

The military is putting in place increased safety measures to protect troops and their families as it prepares for peak moving season during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials announced May 6.

The measures, effective immediately, were directed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and are in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 protocols.

The Army expects to slowly increase the number of soldiers allowed to move to their new duty stations as the service puts in place safety measures to protect the force during the COVID-19 pandemic, senior officials said.

More than 48,000 soldiers and families were scheduled to move between March and August, said Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands, the deputy Army chief of staff for personnel, but many have been in limbo because of a stop movement order that restricted almost all travel for troops, civilian employees and their families. 

The fate of a normally busy PCS season remains uncertain for many soldiers as talks continue among military leaders about when permanent change-of-station travel will resume—and who will be prioritized—amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We don’t want to do anything that places the health of our force at risk,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said during a virtual town hall on April 9. “If that means further delay then that means further delay, but we will work through that as the summer months come.” 

Patty Barron, director of Family Readiness for the Association of the U.S. Army, was sworn in March 24 as a member of the Defense Department’s Military Family Readiness Council.

The swearing-in happened via teleconference because of coronavirus-related precautions.

The 18-member council provides recommendations on family programs, policies and plans, meeting at least twice a year to monitor and evaluate programs.

Children of active-duty troops will get “priority access” to Defense Department child care programs beginning June 1, according to a policy change signed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

As a result of the new policy, some families may be bumped from DoD child care centers. Families affected by the change will be notified beginning in June, and they’ll have 45 days to find alternative care, according to information from the Pentagon.

Big improvements in accountability, transparency and quality from the companies that move household goods are on the way for military families who will be transitioning to new locations at the peak of next year’s moving season, a senior official said.

Complaints of widespread problems with the shipment and delivery of household goods awaited Army Gen. Stephen Lyons about 18 months ago, he said, when he took over as commander of U.S. Transportation Command, the joint military command that oversees family moves around the world.

Improvements are coming to the Army’s Exceptional Family Member Program that provides educational and medical help to special needs dependents, said Col. Steve Lewis, deputy director of the Army’s quality of life task force.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on military personnel, Lewis said 43,000 soldiers have special needs family members. He described the Exceptional Family Member Program, established in the late 1970s, as a “safety net of resources and support” for families who face some of the military’s toughest family challenges.

Families living in Army housing will have another chance to rate the quality of their living conditions and housing services in two confidential surveys set to be emailed on Nov. 7 and Nov. 12.

The first survey going out Nov. 7 will pertain to Army-owned and leased housing; the second survey slated to be emailed Nov. 12 will cover privatized housing. Both surveys will be open through Dec. 13, according to an Army news release.

Army leaders heard a torrent of complaints from soldiers and family members over challenges they’ve faced with poor housing conditions and permanent change-of-station moves during a family forum Oct. 15 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

In response, the Army leaders tried to assure the room full of spouses and soldiers that they are acutely aware of the concerns and are working to correct the problems, including finding ways to better inform Army families of their rights and ensure their complaints get to their unit and installation leadership.