NBK among 14 installations testing system to improve household moves for military families

Poulsbo resident Amanda González moved to town with her active-duty husband assigned to the Bangor base in 2021. At that time, their household move from Kings Bay, Georgia, using the Department of Defense's service, went smoothly. But that's not always the case.

When González's family relocated to Kings Bay from Gorton, Connecticut, in 2018, she recalled a series of problems during the packing and unloading process in two states, several damaged pieces of furniture, miscommunication regarding the packages' arrival time, and the difficulty to trace the shipment on the arrival day.

When packing up, a mover took apart the family's desk, bookshelves, and table despite González's instruction of not to do so because the furniture may not be put together correctly upon arrival. At the arrival date, González flew to Kings Bay but didn't see her packages at her new home four hours after the estimated time her move manager, who worked for a different company than the movers, had told her. González called the move manager again for a follow-up, then she received a call from the mover who blamed her for not contacting the mover but the move manager, and said that they had been heading to a storage as they hadn't known González had been at home waiting for the packages.

Upon arrival, more problems occurred.

"I had a shelf get scratched. I asked to put it on the damage register so we could make a claim. He (mover) tried to offer me $20 in cash to just get a paint pen and fix it myself. And I said no," González said. "And then we had a few other things were damaged. So, they lost screws to our grill because they took it apart. They put our desks back together incorrectly and then broke them."

While the mover was trying to put together one of their desks, he cut himself and bled on González' carpet. When González reached out to the moving company to ask for a carpet cleaner to clean the spot, the company asked her to provide three quotes of licensed, bonded and insured carpet cleaners for the company to pick one and González could schedule it, pay for the cleaning and reimburse that. González ended up cleaning the carpet where the mover bled by herself.

When the family's orders changed, González requested a different company for their move to Kitsap County.

"I don't know if there's a family who didn't have some kind of issue during a move, even small ones," González said.

All of these issues, which can degrade military families' quality of life during an already stressful time, may be better addressed soon under a new Global Household Goods Contract (GHC) program. The program is designed to utilize "advanced technology and software to improve efficiency and revolutionize the moving experience for military families," the program's prime vendor, HomeSafe Alliance, described in a statement.

Under the new system, only HomeSafe Alliance handles the whole shipment process from pre-move counseling to packing, moving, and deliveries. Military families can access a customized electronic dashboard to track the move from a computer, tablet or smartphone. They can get real-time location tracking once the moving truck is within 10 miles of their residence. Since there will be online, easy-to-read, electronic inventories with photos of all the belongings, customers can identify and share information about any loss or damage to their items easier. If the pick-ups are late or delivery dates are missed, they can work directly with the company for a more streamlined inconvenience claims process, according to the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM).

Coordinating with military service and the U.S. Coast Guard, USTRANSCOM has selected Naval Base Kitsap and 13 other installations to be the first to award shipments under GHC, USTRANSCOM announced in a statement on April 2.

NBK selected to use new moving system, limited to local shipments

Currently, shipment eligible to use GHC is limited to relocations with origin and destination addresses within a 50-mile radius of each other, meaning most of the moves that can use GHC will be those moving from on-base barracks or dorms to off-base residents, or people who need to relocate because of retirement but still stay in the local area, said Jessica Brown, a spokesperson at USTRANSCOM.

No one in Naval Base Kitsap had used the GHC system to move as of April 11, Brian Davis, Director of Corporate Communications of Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Puget Sound told Kitsap Sun.

"We have not yet moved anyone under GHC, but we are currently processing shipment requests that are being submitted across our various activated locations," Davis said. "We will likely begin moving a handful of initial GHC shipments in the next few weeks."

NAVSUP FLC Puget Sound is working with USTRANSCOM to monitor these initial moves and use the feedback it receives from service members to adjust accordingly and ensure GHC is delivering quality customer service, Davis said.

Other installations selected for the first phase to use GHC are Naval Station Everett, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, U.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Naval Station Norfolk, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Naval Base San Diego, Naval Base Ventura County-Port Hueneme, Naval Air Station Lemoore, and U.S. Coast Guard Base Portsmouth, according to USTRANSCOM.

"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," according to USTRANSCOM's statement.

International shipments start no earlier than September 2025

HomeSafe Alliance is pleased to be the exclusive move management provider for the U.S. Armed Forces, Department of Defense civilians, and their families under the Global Household Goods contract, the company said.

“Everyone at HomeSafe believes service members deserve a better moving experience than they have received in the past, and we stand ready to deliver our transformative solution and begin a new era in military moving,” Robert Nicholson, Chief Executive Officer of HomeSafe Alliance said in a statement on April 2. “We are delighted for the opportunity to bring our mission to life.”

However, it may take a while before military families can use GHC to move between states or different countries as the plan is to let HomeSafe service a low initial volume of shipments to allow the new system to experience data flow and address any issues that arise, the company said.

"From now until August, fewer than 1% of Department of Defense household goods moves are expected to be GHCmoves, but move volume is expected to increase following this year’s peak moving season," according to HomeSafe's statement.

The moves under GHC will be less than 2% of DoD household goods moves in August, 4% for September, 10% for October and November, and 20% for December. DoD will continue raising the volume of domestic GHC shipments into next year, USTRANSCOM said. International shipments under GHC will start no earlier than September 2025, with a similar gradual phase-in of locations and shipment volume, according to USTRANSCOM's statement.

Though never moved under GHC, González agreed that the news system seemed to be able to improve the relocation process, she said.

"If it's like one company that you know, that's who everyone is dealing with, I think they're going to be held more accountable because they have to do it for everybody," González said.

"And then I would love to have been able to see a tracker," she said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Naval Base Kitsap to use new system for improved moving experience