FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS (Feb. 12, 2025) — Members of the Fort Leavenworth community were invited to take part in a program earlier this week to help make their permanent-change-of-station moves a little smoother.
Megan Harless, PCS reform advocate and founder of the moving resource organization PCS Like A Pro, presented “Mastering Your PCS” to an audience of permanent party service members, Command and General Staff College students, and their spouses Feb. 11 in the Armed Forces Insurance conference room. The presentation focused on the new Global Household Goods Contract (GHC) that many military families will have to navigate soon.
The presentation was hosted by Stronghold U, a branch of Stronghold Food Pantry that provides education about key factors that can lead to military food insecurity.
Stronghold Founder and CEO Monica Bassett related the mission of Stronghold U to the parable, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime,” noting that Stronghold goes beyond assisting with immediate needs and hopes to help prevent food insecurity.
“We launched this education pillar because we want to target the root causes that cause military families to move into that food insecurity,” she said.
Bassett said out-of-pocket moving expenses are why some military families end up facing food insecurity. She said some families might be able to afford to lose thousands of dollars out of their savings for a permanent-change-of-station move, but many families cannot.
“There are families that that $5,000 is detrimental to, and if we don’t stand in the gap, automatically and quickly, and give that immediate, tangible effort and support, that can spiral into more issues and more crisis.”
Harless, an Army veteran, military spouse of nearly 20 years, and mother of three children, said she shares tips, hacks and best practices learned through trial and error with other military families so they can have smoother PCS experiences.
She said with the new consolidated GHC, HomeSafe Alliance is now responsible for managing and coordinating military moves. She said outbound CGSC students will use the legacy moving system this summer, the same method they used when they moved to Leavenworth. Permanent party moves will use the new GHC system, which started including Fort Leavenworth last fall.
Harless said either process can be started after orders are received, but she noted that any purchases, such as moving boxes, will not be counted toward expenses if made before receiving orders. During her program, she shared specifications for transporting firearms, some examples for when to consider repair versus replacement, and other things to keep in mind before, during and after a move. She noted some updates, including that movers can no longer mark mechanical condition unknown (MCU) on items, so that now if something doesn’t work at the end of a move, it is assumed to be transit related. She also went over the claims process, explaining inconvenience, hardship, real property damage and other types of claims, how to make the claim-filing process easier and more effective, deadlines for filing, and when compensation must be made for the claims. She also recommended considering Army Emergency Relief, or other branch-specific relief fund, when someone is in a financially taxing situation, for zero-interest loans, grants or other assistance.
Harless said pet reimbursement, for boarding fees, pet couriers and other pet-related moving expenses, began being offered last year. She said the organization that advocated for pet transportation fees to be reimbursed, Leave No Paws Behind USA, offers resources to help pet owners find solutions when pet-related move issues arise. Visit https://www.facebook.com/leavenopawsbehindusa for more information.
Best practices
Harless highly recommends having a PCS binder to help organize important documents, including a copy of orders, move-out checklist, children’s records and individualized education programs, immunization records, veterinary records, household goods inventory, receipts and more.
She also suggests having a personal home inventory, which could be an extensive spreadsheet or, at least, photographs of each room.
“In the case you have a catastrophic loss, in the case you have a box that doesn’t arrive, you have some sort of proof of what you had,” she said. “Should you have that kind of catastrophic loss and you have to go through and itemize everything in your shipment, you’ve already done most of that hard work upfront.”
She also recommends carrying insurance, including maritime insurance for an overseas shipment and renter’s or other insurance, if needed, for anything HomeSafe’s liability doesn’t cover.
Harless included a budget worksheet in the packet she provided class participants to get them started working on their own PCS budgets.
“If nothing else, if you can’t figure out what your lodging is going to be, at least figure out what your entitlement is going to be, so that way when you are budgeting and you’re trying to go make those reservations, you have an idea of what you’re going to get per night.”
Harless said the “PCS purge” is one of her favorite best practices.
“This is where you go through your home and identify what it is that no longer fits you, that you haven’t used in the last two years that you’ve lived here, that is going to serve no purpose at your next home, is not sentimental, or is in the box that you just shoved in the closet underneath the stairs and you forgot about it and you haven’t opened it and unpacked it. Or it’s that box of cords that you’ve toted around for 20 years and you have no idea what they go to, or you have the box of 17 curtains that no longer fit any windows in your home — pick your very favorite and get rid of the rest.”
The “will-we-make-weight game” is something Harless said her family plays every time they move, taking into consideration their home gym, small library and her large collection of ceramic Christmas trees. The PCS purge is one of her remedies to help keep household goods within allowable weight limits.
“I highly suggest, if you are worried or concerned about your (HHG) weight, or your house at your next location, due a PCS purge,” she said. “Do it now, before you move, because then when you get to your next location, it’s less that you have to unpack. If you think you might need it, or it might fit your next home, keep it, decide when you get to delivery. But I highly recommend a purge of some sort — you’ll be surprised at what doesn’t fit you that’s been hanging in your closet, or doesn’t fit your kids anymore, what toys are hidden in their closet that they no longer play with, and other random things.”
Harless said to make sure professional gear — equipment used for a job — is approved and on file so that gear is given its own weight allowance (2,000 pounds for service members, 500 pounds for spouses) and not lumped into the main household goods weight limit.
Another hack Harless suggested is placing clothing, bedding and other fabric items in bags to protect them from mold and from having personal things like underwear being handled by strangers, so that all of those items don’t have to be rewashed when delivered.
“Everything in my house is pretty much in a bag, of some kind, if it can be,” she said. “Prepacking is not required by any means; it’s more of a personal choice. If I can do something to ensure things are accounted for and together and not getting damaged and can make the packing days go easier, and I’m not having to ask my landlord to give me an extra day to stay in the house, I do it.”
She said then on the delivery side, she can easily remove her prepacked bags from the moving boxes and send the boxes and packing materials with the moving crew for one less thing to worry about.
Harless shared more tips and tricks, including her habit of putting a stamp with her contact information on every box, and then rolling over the contact information with a confidential rolling stamp before recycling the boxes. She also likes to use color-coordinated labels for every room to save time checking off inventory. Other tips she offered included making sure the person most attentive to the move be the one to review the moving inventory list, and to not sign it if something is wrong until the issue is amended.
Stronghold U plans to offer another PCS class in April. Visit https://www. strongholdfoodpantry.org/ for more information. In addition to offering the PCS classes, Stronghold U has also offered classes on financial awareness and home buying.
To access free resources, including budget and inventory sheets, and connect with Harless, visit https://www.pcslikeapro.org/.
For more information about GHC, visit https://www.ustranscom.mil/dp3/ghgc.cfm and https://www.militaryonesource.mil/resources /millife-guides/ustranscom-global-household-goods-contract/.
To contact the Fort Leavenworth Logistics Readiness Center/Transportation Office at 549 Kearney Ave., call 913-684-5656 or e-mail usarmy.leavenworth.407-afsb-lrc.mbx.ppso@army.mil. Visit https://home.army.mil/leavenworth/my-fort/all-services/transportation-office for more information.
‘PCS purge’ resources
Fort Leavenworth provides many resources for helping with a PCS purge.
Usable items in like-new condition, such as clothing, toys and small appliances, can be donated to the Fort Leavenworth Thrift Shop, which uses store proceeds for community assistance grants, at the shop’s drop-off shed at 1025 Sheridan Drive.
Fort Leavenworth Frontier Heritage Communities partners with City Union Mission of Kansas City, Missouri, for curbside pickup of usable items on certain Saturdays throughout the year, as well as drop-offs in the FLFHC parking lot after the postwide yard sale the last Saturday in April.
Pet supplies and unopened pet food can be placed in the red bin on the porch of the Fort Leavenworth Stray Facility at 510 Organ. Ave.
Cleaners, paint, yard chemicals and other materials that should not be shipped can be dropped off at Household Hazardous Waste Collection Point, 810 McClellan Ave., to be used by other residents or properly disposed of.
Recycling of scrap metal, glass, cardboard and mixed recycling of paper, aluminum and more is offered in the area off W. Warehouse Road south of the stables. E-waste, such as toner cartridges and printers, can also be dropped off at the Fort Leavenworth Recycling Center.
Fort Leavenworth Frontier Housing Communities offers recycling and regular and bulk trash options for residents.
Resources and Links
• On-post housing handbooks, trash and recycling guides from Frontier Heritage
Housing: https://www.frontierheritagecommunities.com/residents
• Fort Leavenworth Recycling Center: https://home.army.mil/leavenworth/my-fort/all-services/environmental-management
• City of Leavenworth Recycling Center: https://www.leavenworthks.org/publicworks/page/leavenworth-recycling-center
• City of Lansing Curbside Recycling: https://www.lansingks.org/finance/page/trash-recycling
• City of Platte City Recycling: https://www.plattecity.org/documentlist.aspx?categoryid=12924
• Household Hazardous Product Collection Point: https://home. army.mil/leavenworth/index.php/my-fort/all-services/environmental-management
• Auto Skills Center for motor oil: https://leavenworth.armymwr.com/programs/auto-crafts-center
• Leavenworth County Transfer Station for household and bulk trash drop-off: https://www.leavenworthcounty.gov/departments/transfer_station/index.php
• Munson Army Health Center for medications: https://munson.tricare.mil/
• Fort Leavenworth Thrift Shop: https://www.facebook.com/Fort-Leavenworth-Thrift-Shop-211189988897157/
• City Union Mission, through partnership and coordination with Fort Leavenworth Frontier Heritage Communities: https://cityunionmission.org
• Fort Leavenworth Stray Facility: https://leavenworth.armymwr.com/ programs/stray-facility, www.FLSF. petfinder.com
• Salvation Army, Leavenworth: https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/leavenworth/
• Catholic Charities, Leavenworth: https://catholiccharitiesks.org/where-wework/leavenworth/
• Goodwill, Leavenworth: https://www.mokangoodwill.org/locations/goodwill-leavenworth-ks
• HOPE Thrift Store, Leavenworth: https://hopeleav.org/thrift-store/, https://www.facebook. com/HOPEThrift-StoreLeavenworth/
• Leavenworth Mission Community Store/Food Pantry: https:// lvmission.org/, https://www.facebook.com/Leavenworth-Mission/
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