The Army stopped cutting orders for permanent change of station moves on Oct. 1, 2025, with the exception of specific sets of personnel. (Stephanie Henry/U.S. Air Force)
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The Army has reversed a directive issued last week that suspended most permanent change of station moves that began before the federal government shutdown, though with one major exception.
The reversal comes five days after the service postponed in-progress moves, leaving many families in limbo. The order did not pertain to civilian Army employees.
Moves had been permitted to continue for PCS orders issued before Oct. 1, the date the shutdown commenced.
On Monday, the Army dropped the suspension, Col. Rachel Sullivan, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, said in a Facebook video posted Tuesday evening.
“This means anyone who has already received PCS orders prior to Oct. 1 can continue those moves with one exception,” she said. “We believe this change comes in recognition of the significant hardship that suspending families in the middle of a PCS move creates.”
The suspension vexed the hundreds of soldiers and their families who were already in the process of packing, storing and shipping household goods.
“We know that these changes have already caused a significant amount of stress, and we are very sorry for that,” Sullivan said.
Still suspended, however, are PCS moves ordered before Oct. 1 that require long-term storage of household goods, Sullivan said.
So-called “non-temporary” storage is typically used by service members moving from the mainland to overseas stations, such as Japan, Korea or Germany, she said. Such moves often limit the amount of household goods that can be shipped, necessitating storage.
Sullivan directed soldiers to scrutinize their PCS orders to determine whether they are authorized for non-temporary storage.
As of Oct. 1, the Army stopped cutting orders for PCS moves, with the exception of specific sets of personnel, Sullivan said.
Exceptions include those attending transition or reclassification training; Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga.; Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Rucker, Ala.; special operations training pipelines and drill instructor and recruiting schools, Sullivan said.
