Movers pack items belonging to a U.S. soldier at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, in June 2019. (Stephenie Wade/U.S. Transportation Command)
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The Army has suspended in-progress permanent-change-of-station moves by soldiers for the entirety of the federal government shutdown, leaving some families in limbo.
“Effective today, we have received updated guidance from the headquarters Department of the Army to suspend all in-progress PCS moves,” Col. Rachel Sullivan, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, said in a Facebook video posted late Thursday.
Previously, moves were permitted to continue if PCS orders had been dated before Oct. 1, the date the federal shutdown commenced, Sullivan said.
“For all personnel, we understand that this is incredibly disruptive to our soldiers and families” Sullivan said. “We apologize for this inconvenience, and we want you to know that we’re committed to providing the most up-to-date information as soon as we have it.”
The sudden halt to in-progress moves was “just a really bad idea,” Megan Harless, an advocate for military families PCS-ing, said by phone Friday.
“We have families that have their household goods picked up, they’ve cleared housing, and they go to do their final home appointment at their installation, and it’s not until then — and this was happening a lot yesterday — that they’re told that they can’t go anywhere and that they’re stuck,” she said.
“So now we have families that are in lodging for an indefinite amount of time — lodging that they may not be able to afford because they’re not getting a paycheck next week,” she said.
The suspension extends to soldiers stationed overseas.
“I had one friend yesterday in Korea who had their [household goods] picked up, and then after their stuff was picked up for their unaccompanied baggage shipment, they were told that they’re stopped and that they’re not moving,” Harless said.
The suspension comes with a number of exceptions, according to an Army document posted along with Sullivan’s video.
Excepted categories include students and those on special assignments, such as drill sergeant and recruiting. It also does not include purely civilian moves.
“If you have already moved out of family housing and are in a hotel during your final days on [temporary lodging allowance], you will proceed as planned,” Sullivan said. “We are considering you at this time as having departed the installation.”
Move-out dates will be rescheduled for those who have not yet left family housing, Sullivan said.
Soldiers facing financial hardship due to the shutdown or the PCS suspension are advised to contact their local Army Emergency Relief office.
