Information on PCS/moves/moving (DITY, TMO, DLA, storage)

[brabus]

I have an OCONUS PCS coming up in a few months...does anyone know if the cost of flying our two dogs is reimbursable? Even the Patriot Express charges you per dog (as well the airline getting us to Seattle). We're going to Japan, so any insight on traveling with dogs would be appreciated.

[uhhello]

I have an OCONUS PCS coming up in a few months...does anyone know if the cost of flying our two dogs is reimbursable? Even the Patriot Express charges you per dog (as well the airline getting us to Seattle). We're going to Japan, so any insight on traveling with dogs would be appreciated.

Most definitely not.

[schokie]

Kenneling costs due to customs regulations (like in the UK) are reimbursable, but the actual shipment is not. Trust me, I wish it was. I just had two Great Pryenees shipped to the UK and my wallet will never recover.

[brabus]

That's what I thought, worth a shot though. Thanks guys.

[uhhello]

Kenneling costs due to customs regulations (like in the UK) are reimbursable, but the actual shipment is not. Trust me, I wish it was. I just had two Great Pryenees shipped to the UK and my wallet will never recover.

They only cover something like 400-500 dollars of the kenneling fees and it has to be due to quarantine issues. We could have bought half of a nice car with the money we spent to get our two beagles from Oki to England.

[Smokin]

I am PCSing with two TDYs enroute. On the remarks section of my orders for my second TDY, it says "Member is authorized to arrive NET two days prior to class start date." The problem is that my TDY classes are 35 days apart. Does that mean the AF is forcing me to take 33 days of leave (that I don't have or want to take)? Anyone know the reg that governs this or waiver authority?

[Finance_Guy]

I am PCSing with two TDYs enroute. On the remarks section of my orders for my second TDY, it says "Member is authorized to arrive NET two days prior to class start date." The problem is that my TDY classes are 35 days apart. Does that mean the AF is forcing me to take 33 days of leave (that I don't have or want to take)? Anyone know the reg that governs this or waiver authority?

Where's the personnel guy? I don't know, but would suspect it should be covered in some 36 series AFI--try 36-2110 first. Ask your outbound assignments what they expect you to do for those 33 days. I would guess there would be some sort of casual status--or maybe recruiter duty? If so, be sure to get your status documented in writing, otherwise it would be charged as leave.

[B.L]

I'm PCSing from NWhiting to Vance here in the next couple of months. Don't really want the wife to drive from here to there. So the question is, if I tow her car, with my own tow dolly, would I get paid for the weight? Would it count toward the partial DITY? What would be the difference if I bought my own tow dolly, or rented one from UHAUL?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.

BL

[Guest AFsock]

Not sure about the wife part, but as a single guy they wouldn't pay me to move my multiple vehicles though (weight, fees, or even UHAUL gear)

Edited March 21, 2011 by AFsock

[brabus]

You cannot count the weight of the car, but I think you can be reimbursed for the cost of a tow dolly rental...not 100% sure on the last part.

Also, if you drive separately on different days (even if only by a one day difference), you will be reimbursed full per diem and mileage for both you and your wife and both cars. If you drive on the same day, you will be reimbursed only fully for yourself/car and get a reduced per diem/mileage for her/her car. Just food for thought.

Edited March 21, 2011 by brabus

[LoadClear]

PCSing from Charlotte NC to NAS Pensacola in a few months for CSO training. Been a guard guy my whole career and never done a PCS. The process seems a little crazy and a real headache. I've read through this whole thread and it sounds like a DITY move (or whatever its called now) is the way to go if you are ok with dealing with the headache to pocket some cash and only blame yourself about broken shit.

Anyway, I know there is no calculator or estimator anymore since the Navy took theirs down. Could people post some real weight and mileage numbers and how much they were reimbursed? It may give some people some ball park ideas. I've started pricing rental trucks, etc and want to be sure its worth my while. Thanks!

[KingGuy]

PCSing from Charlotte NC to NAS Pensacola in a few months for CSO training. Been a guard guy my whole career and never done a PCS. The process seems a little crazy and a real headache. I've read through this whole thread and it sounds like a DITY move (or whatever its called now) is the way to go if you are ok with dealing with the headache to pocket some cash and only blame yourself about broken shit.

Anyway, I know there is no calculator or estimator anymore since the Navy took theirs down. Could people post some real weight and mileage numbers and how much they were reimbursed? It may give some people some ball park ideas. I've started pricing rental trucks, etc and want to be sure its worth my while. Thanks!

It's really tough to tell since there is a serious convoluted formula. It's got several factors, mileage and weight only being two of them. Since you get reimbursed up to 95% (or 90%?) of whatever it would cost the government, there is a big portion based on the frequency of the route - i.e. it would cost the government less to add your stuff to a really busy route (like to/ from a huge base or military area) than it would from one very rural area where you're the only military person. I think the formula has a spot for moving from and moving to locations, with a rating of 'frequency' from 1-5.

I'm certain there is a table with each zip code listing the zones, but I don't know where to find it other than in the TMO office. Beyond that, even the weight is also a little tricky. It's based on 100s of lbs, but the table is split by thousands, so at each 1000 lb increment, the cost per mile per pound resets (because shipping 1000 lbs might be just slightly less than 2000 lbs if you're in a very rural zone and a majority of the cost is just getting the moving company there), so in certain cases, having 1980 lbs would get you paid more total than having 2001 lbs (although these numbers are arbitrary and this is rare, it is possible).

But sometimes a cost cannot be put on having access to your belongings immediately upon arrival and knowing they weren't lost anywhere or damaged along the way. You will either make money, or lose just a little bit in very rare cases. I suggest moving it yourself if you don't mind the headache, and have the time to drive it down there.

But to answer your question of some number, a friend of mine always swore by the WAG formula of number of lbs of stuff/number of thousand miles = approximately how much I'll get paid (I have 600 lbs and am moving 1000 miles, I'll get $600). Personally, I have no idea how accurate that number is because I'm not smart enough to try and keep all the numbers straight in the end.

[Guest AFsock]

This says $.19 a mile (plus all the weight formulas above) as well as per diem for food and lodging. https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/otherratesMile.cfm

The only equipment I've rented has been U-Haul car haulers (non-reimbursable) however, all expenses like that add to the notaxable portions of what they'll repay. Every move I've made last two years (280-900 miles) has pretty much been me stuffing my truck and car with everything I'm bringing. I can't really remember the totals but I've always come out ahead. Even on TDYs Enroute with 600lb limits.

Edit - I take it back. My 280 mile move move was a partial DITY, but I think I still made money on what I carried myself.

+ Keep in mind they calculate everything off their own minimum distance for travel. So your directions and their mileage may not match.

Edited March 25, 2011 by AFsock

[Smokin]

KingGuy brought up a huge advantage for DITYs. On my first two moves I DITY'd and I slept in my own bed the first night. It is nice to be able to unpack as soon as you get there versus waiting for a moving truck and an appointment from TMO.

[Guest vigilcp]

i have orders and will be relocating from D.C. to California in August. My family will not come out until the Christmas break so my wife can have more time to find a job and I can get settled in my unit, etc. My question is, Do i rate the DLA with Dependents when they come, do they just give it to me when i leave, or do i not rate it at all? The way i read the order is that you dont rate it if you come solo and stay in Geo Bachelor barracks, however that is only temporary and my family will come out a couple months later. just figuring out the best way to play that since it is a good chunk of change. Also, what about the per diem and mileage rates for the second car that she would be driving. I know we rate it if she travels when i do to the new duty station, does she rate it if we wait till december for her to relocate? half of me says just to make it easy and say "we traveled" and then just figure it out all later. but that could come back to bite me in the butt since i will probably need to use my TMO move at that later date when they decide to relocate and catch up with me. Any advice from people that have went solo and had their family catch up later, or with any knowledge on the entitlements would be very useful. Thanks

[PirateAF]

Thread re-direct...has anyone here had any experience with HAP? The Army Corps of Engineers program that will pay you 90% of your home loss if you had to sell due to a PCS? We qualify but I'm trying to see how long it takes for the gov't to process the paperwork and issue a payment.

Thanks!!

[HossHarris]

Thread re-direct...has anyone here had any experience with HAP? The Army Corps of Engineers program that will pay you 90% of your home loss if you had to sell due to a PCS? We qualify but I'm trying to see how long it takes for the gov't to process the paperwork and issue a payment.

Thanks!!

I've done HAP successfully. What little pain there is in regards to paperwork and timelines is well worth the free money and preservation of your credit score.

It's a significant chunk of free money.

DO IT.

[Guest Sandlapper]

DoD changed the pay-out rates for DITY & partial-DITY moves last year. There used to be a Navy-run online calculator where you could estimate a DITY payout, but that's been decomissioned as part of the new rules & rates. Therefore, it is now very difficult to try & estimate a break-even/profit point for going through the hassle of a DITY move. Where the average $ per pound moved was roughly 1.60, it is now around .85cents/pound...ouch.

Here's my question...anyone used a PODS-type container for a DITY? If so, how much weight did you get in it? Their max capacity is 10K, but they say the average loaded POD weighs 5K. I need mine to weigh about 7-8K to make it worth the effort...the problem is you don't know until it's stuffed & weighed. Anyone here PCS'ed in the past 12 months & can offer insight into the new DITY rates...? Much appreciated.

SL

[Finance_Guy]

i have orders and will be relocating from D.C. to California in August. My family will not come out until the Christmas break so my wife can have more time to find a job and I can get settled in my unit, etc. My question is, Do i rate the DLA with Dependents when they come, do they just give it to me when i leave, or do i not rate it at all? The way i read the order is that you dont rate it if you come solo and stay in Geo Bachelor barracks, however that is only temporary and my family will come out a couple months later. just figuring out the best way to play that since it is a good chunk of change. Also, what about the per diem and mileage rates for the second car that she would be driving. I know we rate it if she travels when i do to the new duty station, does she rate it if we wait till december for her to relocate? half of me says just to make it easy and say "we traveled" and then just figure it out all later. but that could come back to bite me in the butt since i will probably need to use my TMO move at that later date when they decide to relocate and catch up with me. Any advice from people that have went solo and had their family catch up later, or with any knowledge on the entitlements would be very useful. Thanks

You will get With Dep rate DLA when they do PCS/Move provided they are authorized dependents on your orders. Most likely they will not advance you the DLA. You would not be due any DLA if initially staying in Go'vt Bachelor qtrs.

Her per diem (s/b $123/day) and mileage ($0.19) would be the same as your's. When dependent drives non-concurrent, they are paid as if the member drove. Any children would also rate the 50 or 75% extra on per diem. JFTR PARA U5210.C

Don't file your voucher saying you traveled together if you in fact did not.

[HU&W]

Here's a new one for you. As you know, when movers disassemble a piece of furniture at your old house, they have to reassemble it at your new house. We've been moved in for about a month. Tonight, my wife put our baby in the crib. 20 minutes later, she heard a scream and crying. When she went in to find out what was going on, the back half of the crib had collapsed. Our baby was pinned between the mattress, frame, and wall. Fortunately she wasn't hurt, but had her position been just inches different she could have been severely injured or worse. Looked over the crib to find out if something was defective. Turns out it wasn't the crib that was defective. The back half of the crib, behind the mattress, had no ZERO bolts holding it together. It was just jammed together and jammed against the wall. It held for a month like that. Suspiciously all the required bolts are in place in all the readily visible areas. Almost seems like someone reassembled the crib, ran out of bolts, and instead of telling anyone just made the empty spots somewhere invisible. Surely they had no idea they were endangering a baby. Bad on me for not dismantling everything they did behind them (STS) and verifying their work.

[WeMeantWell]

Here's a new one for you. As you know, when movers disassemble a piece of furniture at your old house, they have to reassemble it at your new house. We've been moved in for about a month. Tonight, my wife put our baby in the crib.

Yeah you fvcked up, that guy carrying your stuff in to your house, do not trust him with anything. The driver, trust him with less. What qualification do you think they have? Most of them have no clue what English is and I doubt they could locate where they are on a map. Some of them won't re-assemble a crib anyways, because of the liability (I've asked) of what happened to you. I have learned the hard way, disassemble and then re-assemble everything yourself, you are the only one that knows how it should be done, I have three kids and make them sleep in sleeping bags the first night if I can't get to their beds. It will save you a lot of time in the end. Have you ever seen the tools they use? Are you kidding me? No self respecting American would bring 2 screwdrivers, a hammer and a 5/8 wrench from Woolworths to disassemble anything (ever have them ask you for allen wrenches, seriously?). The sooner I can get them out of the house the better, I don't care what work it costs me in time that day or week. Don't let them do your beds (They lost a footing in the middle, found a brick from the back yard and jammed it with paper towels to fix it), dresser (they put 3 inch drywall screws through the mirror backing and then into the drawers, couldn't open them), tables (broke a leg during the move and put it together anyway, basically balancing on the other three). Don't trust them with your pets (threw KFC chicken bones at my dog, which of course he ate and chocked on), each other (No kidding, a neighbor on base had two packers get in a fist fight in the front yard), or your bathroom (I have never had someone disrespect my throne so bad that I wouldn't let my kids go in there... I actually replaced the whole throne, but only partially for that). And never ever ever ever ever let them pack anything that looks quasi-valuable, stolen/missing items I have known about: playstation, wii, model airplanes, smaller TVs, jewelry, watches, coins, anything that looks flashy/shinny (think raccoon-mentality skills) there is a good chance it won't make it, even if is a tin foil ornament your kid made at church, it's gone. They have no incentive to be up front with you. If a packer/unpacker screws up he is out of a job, if the driver screws up (i.e. you claim something) it comes from his pay. Yes, there are good companies and drivers and packers, but after 7 moves in 12 years I think I have had 2 companies that I wouldn't smack down with furious anger the next time I saw them.... and yes, I claim everything!! everything. The next time you don't claim that $10 vase that shattered you are justifying the use of that company and screwing the next guy that is forced to use them as well. I take the same philosophy to 781, but that is an entirely different topic...

I tell the wife: this is why we can't have nice things (I always see the bright side of things!)

btw, I always give the benefit of doubt with each one, I have cold drinks on hand all day and buy lunch...

[/rant]

[go_cubbies22]

I looked through the JFTR but I don't think this is covered in there. I just PCSd to Elmendorf and am waiting to move into my house on June 1. For an OCONUS move, I'm authorized 60 days of TLA. I stayed on base for the first 30 days in a pet TLF and then was booted out of the pet tlf since lodging will only let you reserve a room for 30 days. Luckily I was given a non-A letter since summer hotel rates in Anchorage are around $180 but the non-A letter specifies that it's only for 7 nights. I know for TDYs that you only have to be given a non-A once and it is good for the entire TDY. I could not find that statement relating to a PCS or TLA. Does anybody know if my non-A is good for the rest of my TLA or if I have to check back with lodging next week and hope they are booked full again? Thanks.

[ThreeHoler]

If your non-A is only for 7 nights...you'd better get a new one or move back into the TLF before it expires...

[Toro]

If your non-A is only for 7 nights...you'd better get a new one or move back into the TLF before it expires...

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

There's an entire thread on Non-Availability but the bottom line is that a non-A slip CANNOT be given for a specified period of time. Regardless of the time specified, you can stay off base as long as required.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Toro
Found the Non-A link

[DFRESH]

I've been searching, but I'm guessing I'm just not using the right terms... my google-foo must be weak today. Anyways, I'm just commissioned via ROTC, and I'm about to PCS to my first PDS. I'm doing a full DITY (probably not even going to bring more than 1K lbs of stuff). I requested the advanced operating allowance of 60%. Unfortunately, I can't figure out where to get said advance. The counselor from the TMO office isn't sure if I work through my gaining unit or through his base (Patrick AFB), or if I work through my detachment (I assume the least likely option). Anybody have any words of wisdom here? I've sent an email over to the NCOIC from my det, but I haven't started bugging people at my gaining unit or at Patrick (don't really care to start off on the wrong foot). Thanks a ton!