FORT KNOX, Ky. — Any Soldier who has worked to move the household goods and family to a new location understands the challenges involved.
A PCS move can be daunting as Soldiers focus on the out-processing checklist, getting the right documents to the right agency at the right time, making sure reservations and appointments are made, and family and pets are prepared to go. The last thing personnel want to devote hours to is searching a website for what to do next, says Marie Torres, transportation specialist at Fort Knox.
“In previous years, we would refer Soldiers to Military OneSource,” said Torres. “It has a lot of information, but it’s not very user-friendly.”
Her sentiment has apparently been shared by many others across all service branches as the recently formed Personal Property Activity is now the overall manager for all moves. As part of its mandate from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the activity revamped the moving process and launched a new website on May 1 – at https://www.ppa.mil/.
Torres took some time to review the new website for user-friendliness, effectiveness and efficiency. She is giving it high marks.
“This is a one-stop shop for the servicemember and actually lays out moving steps from A to Z in the process,” said Torres. “It has some very nice dropdowns in the tabs. The ‘Your Move’ dropdown features a PCS Moves 101 section, which talks you through the steps.”
“Your Move” lists five steps, beginning with “You’ve Got Orders! Now What?” and ending with “Delivery and Claims.”
Torres said there are also easy tabs for questions and resources.
“All this makes it very user-friendly,” said Torres. “The site outlines those tools which are easily accessible now to the servicemember versus Military OneSource, where it seemed like you had to dig for that information – it wasn’t right there in front of you.”
Torres also highlighted the Customer Service Contacts subtab under “Resources,” which again leads a servicemember through an easy-to-follow three-step process.
“First, your main source should be your local Transportation office, which is correct,” said Torres. “Come to us first.”
The website boasts of how simple it is for Soldiers to find who they need to talk to: “Customer service as easy as 1, 2, 3”
Torres said the website was designed to help personnel have a smoother transition to a new destination – and it delivers.
“We’re trying to make it more seamless where servicemembers are having fewer issues,” said Torres. “Some things we can’t help, but this is a good source that is very helpful. The Army is moving in a positive direction.”