A military mover packs a service member's belongings at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., July 17, 2025. (Stephanie Henry/U.S. Air Force)
Only airmen who have not yet received orders for new duty stations in the continental United States are affected by a temporary pause on permanent change of station moves, according to the Air Force.
The service made “temporary adjustments” for moves scheduled between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 for those without orders, an Air Force spokeswoman at the Pentagon — a captain who refused to attach her name to her comments — said by email Friday.
The pause stems from the Air Force “proactively managing its [fiscal year 2025] budget to ensure responsible stewardship of resources,” according to her email. “As part of this effort, we are carefully reviewing the timing of personnel actions to continue operating within our allocated budget,” she wrote.
Airmen with pending assignments in November and December under Assignment Availability Code 50 are also affected, the spokeswoman said. Code 50 applies to controlled tours, such as instructor positions, that end with mandatory reassignment.
Exceptions may be requested, the spokeswoman said. “Those impacted should contact their local Military Personnel Flight with questions,” she wrote.
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi said in a video posted Thursday on the Airman’s Dispatch Facebook page that some airmen’s reporting deadlines were extended because of budget limits.
“I just got word, though, that back in the States we had a problem with the PCS budget and unfortunately many of our airmen just got notified of an extension in the PCS cycle,” Flosi said in the video, which he recorded at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.
Airmen moving to or from duty stations outside the continental U.S. who already have orders, along with those scheduled to depart by Sept. 30, are not affected, the Air Force said. Neither are humanitarian or formal training moves, Space Force Guardians or Air Reserve component members.
Pausing moves before orders are issued allows the service to “align the obligation of these PCS funds with mission requirements, budget realities, and overall fiscal year execution,” the Air Force spokeswoman wrote.
