Pentagon Launches Personal Property Activity to End Military Moving Nightmares

The Pentagon has created a dedicated office—the Personal Property Activity (PPA)—to permanently address long-standing problems with military household goods moves, including lost or damaged items, missed deliveries and slow claims processing. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the new organization to report to him through the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment and charged it with restoring reliability and accountability to the moving process for service members and their families.

What the PPA Will Do

The PPA will oversee the full lifecycle of personal property moves for the more than 300,000 service members who relocate each year. That oversight extends from booking and shipment through claims resolution. The office will have acquisition, legal and resource-management capabilities and will exercise end-to-end responsibility for the Defense Personal Property Program.

“If there are failures in the process, our job is to correct it and make it right, not deny that it happened,” Secretary Hegseth said.

Leadership, Location and Timeline

Army Maj. Gen. Lance Curtis, who led the task force that reviewed the program, was named the first PPA commander. The task force was formed after Hegseth dismissed the prior director of the personal property program last summer. Maj. Matthew Visser serves as the PPA spokesman.

The office will be headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Hegseth directed that the PPA be established by May 1 and reach initial operational capability within one year.

Immediate Reforms Already Under Way

The PPA task force has implemented initial changes intended to improve service and expand industry participation, including:

• Earlier booking for peak moving season: Service members with orders can begin scheduling moves on March 20 for the May–September peak window, one month earlier than in recent years.
• Higher per diem for inconvenienced families: Dependents are now eligible for per diem up to 75% of meals-and-incidentals rates when delays occur; those inconvenience claims are billed to the moving company.
• Revised business rules to increase industry competition and compensation, addressing complaints that noncompetitive rates limited access to quality movers.
• A new call center so troops and families can contact the program directly for help and tracking.

The PPA will also realign installation shipping offices, which will continue to assist service members but will report to and be accountable to the PPA rather than individual service branches.

Background

The move follows decades of attempts to reform military moves. The most recent major reform was the $6.2 billion Global Household Goods Contract, which the Defense Department terminated in June, citing contractor failures by HomeSafe Alliance. Hegseth’s action reassigns oversight away from U.S. Transportation Command and elevates the program directly under the secretary to ensure greater focus and accountability.

"When our warfighters are worried about their household goods, they aren’t focused on their mission. We are ending that distraction. Mission readiness is non-negotiable," said Maj. Gen. Lance Curtis.

Industry groups that move military families praised the move as decisive and likely to improve readiness by reducing the distraction and stress of poor relocations.

What to watch next: the PPA’s implementation plan, staffing growth at Scott AFB, how quickly booking and claims processes stabilize, and whether revised business rules attract more qualified moving companies.