A Japanese contractor heaves a mattress in the Furnishings Management Office warehouse at Misawa Air Base, Japan. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)

Whether to ship the shiny brass bed or the plush recliner to Japan should be a dilemma no more for U.S. Air Force members.

They can bring both.

New rules went into effect this month authorizing Air Force personnel moving to Japan with dependents to ship their full household goods weight allowance.

The change applies to active-duty Air Force members and civilians with permanent-change-of-station orders to Japan cut March 1 or later.

Air Force personnel in South Korea serving an accompanied tour with command-sponsored dependents have been authorized to ship their full weight allowance for some time, according to Air Force officials.

As part of the new policy, accompanied servicemembers and civilians will be able to borrow minimal government furniture from their installation for only 90 days, and not the duration of their tour.

The Joint Federal Travel Regulations entitle military members and Defense Department civilians to ship a predetermined weight of household goods, based on pay grade and whether a tour will be accompanied.

The allowance for an E-5 with dependents, for example, is 9,000 pounds.

The amount per pay grade is the same across the military, though each service can set weight limitations for a particular location.

At most bases in Japan, weight restrictions are in place. The Air Force is the first in Japan to allow incoming accompanied members a 100 percent weight allowance.

Accompanied personnel at U.S. Army bases in Japan are allowed 25 percent of their pay grade’s predetermined weight entitlement, according to a housing official at Camp Zama.

Navy members are allowed to ship 75 percent of their entitlement — 25 percent if they’re going to Okinawa, according to Commander Naval Forces Japan spokesman Jon Nylander. They’re entitled 100 percent when they leave Japan, he added.

Marine Corps officials on Okinawa said they’re reviewing their policy and could not say what the current restriction is.

The U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander requested the restriction be removed for Air Force personnel assigned to mainland Japan and Okinawa bases as a quality of life initiative, according to Air Force spokesman Capt. Thomas Wenz.

Air Force officials at Misawa said that people want to bring their own things to Japan.

“Having their own furniture to sit on, to sleep on, that’s important to a lot of people,” said Linda Smith, chief of furnishing management.

It also should save Air Force members money, officials said.

A large number of personnel had to pay for overweight shipments to and from Japan, even though their total weight — for storage and shipping — did not exceed the full JFTR authorization, noted Master Sgt. Dale L. Fox, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron traffic manager.

The rule change is also part of Air Force Smart Operations 21, a measure expected to save the service several million dollars from fiscal 2009 to 2012, according to Wenz.

Savings should come in the form of stateside storage costs, which should be reduced with servicemembers shipping more of their belongings, and the Air Force expects to pay less for its government furnishings program.

Under the initiative, Air Force Furnishings Management Offices — or FMOs — will reduce their furniture supply warehouses.

New Air Force personnel with dependents will be allowed only 90-day loaner kits, officials said.

“We’re going to essential items,” Smith said, basics to include living room, bedroom and dining room sets. Non-essential items such as a china cabinet, bookcase and buffet table will no longer be provided.

Single or unaccompanied servicemembers who don’t live in the dormitories may be able to keep furniture longer, “depending on their orders and if we have the furnishings available,” Smith said.

FMO will continue to provide appliances such as a refrigerator, stove and washer and dryer to off-base residents at Misawa, Smith said. On-base quarters already come with those appliances.

For servicemembers who already have government furniture, FMO will reclaim the furniture when they move, Smith said.

At Yokota Air Base, Elizabeth Wilson, chief of the housing flight, said FMO will scale back its warehouse, but the timeline is still being worked out.

Unaccompanied Air Force members residing in government quarters will continue to be entitled to an unaccompanied baggage shipment based on grade, officials said.

Now you can, but should you?A word of caution to Air Force members and their families: Just because you can now ship more belongings when coming to Japan, you shouldn’t pack up the whole house, military officials say.

On- and off-base housing at Yokota, Misawa and Kadena air bases is smaller than many stateside locations, and base storage is limited, if available at all.

At Misawa Air Base, for example, off-base homes typically range from 800 to 1,400 square feet. On-base units aren’t much bigger, ranging from 1,038 square feet to 1,585 square feet.

“People are still advised to put non-essential items in storage” in the States, said Vonda Lewis, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron traffic management officer at Misawa.

Servicemembers who bring oversized items that won’t fit in their overseas house will have to either ship the item back at their own expense, or pay high fees for commercial storage in Japan, officials said.

Misawa officials advise bringing:Living room set: couch, chair, coffee table, end table, lampsDining room set: table and chairsBedroom set: Bed, dresser or chest, night stand, lampsItems not recommended include:Major appliancesKing-size beds, California king beds or water bedsJacuzzisUpright or deep freezersLarge antique furnitureCurio-style grandfather clocksOversized furniture such as china cabinets, wall units or wall-to-wall entertainment centers, sectional sofas or desksAir Force members living in tower apartments don’t have room for large patio furniture and don’t need to bring garden items, such as lawn mowers and weed cutters, officials said.

Members still will be entitled to non-temporary storage in the States. They can store or ship the combined weight of their full weight allowance, according to Master Sgt. Dale L. Fox, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron traffic manager.

The Air Force provides an online form to assist people with estimating the weight of their shipment. The Web site notes that “this is an estimate only,” and that “you are ultimately responsible for the actual weight of the household goods you ship.”

A Japanese contractor heaves a mattress in the Furnishings Management Office warehouse at Misawa Air Base, Japan. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)

Under a new rule that took effect March 1, Air Force servicemembers and civilians with dependents will be allowed to ship their entire household goods weight allotment to Japan. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)

U.S. government loaner furniture is loaded for home delivery in the Furnishings Management Office warehouse at Misawa Air Base, Japan, this week. Government loaner furniture, such as beds and couches, will be provided for only 90 days instead of one's tour duration. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)