DoD Cancels $17 Billion Global PCS Contract with HomeSafe Alliance
Update July 1 2025: The DoD promises the setup of a PCS move hotline to assist those who experience difficulties with their 2025 permanent change of station moves following the cancellation of the DoD global PCS contract with HomeSafe Alliance (see below.)
The DoD has admitted defeat in the troubled HomeSafe Alliance household goods controversy, canceling its $17.9 billion contract with HomeSafe Alliance. That company was brought in to be the privatized manager of the military’s household goods system. Due to the cancellation of this contract, PCS moves could be much more complicated for many military families.
DoD Cancels HomeSafe Alliance Global Household Goods Contract
The Department of Defense has announced the termination of the contractor hired to manage military permanent change of station moves worldwide, leaving the military reliant on its old, outdated legacy PCS move system.
A Pentagon press statement about a Permanent Change of Station Task Force also announced the termination of the HSA contract, which was fraught with problems since the failed rollout of a new “one-stop” PCS household goods shipment system. The announcement comes in the midst of peak PCS season, leaving many scrambling for answers in the meantime.
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PCS Problems
The DoD is attempting to manage the PCS crisis and growing concerns over the cancelled HomeSafe Alliance contract.
The Pentagon Press release notes, “The DoD has put in place several immediate changes to address current peak season issues. Household good moves are being handled within the legacy ‘Tender of Service’ system to ensure the ability to move personnel and their families. Additionally, those who choose to move their own household goods via the Personally Procured Moves (PPMs) process are being reimbursed at an increased, more reasonable rate.”
The press statement does not address how military families relocating to or from overseas duty assignments are supposed to utilize a do-it-yourself or PPM move under these circumstances.
Some point to such oversights as a symptom of a larger, systemic problem within the DoD permanent change of station move process. Others simply wonder how they will get their families to their next duty station as the DoD picks up the pieces of their failed upgrades to the system.
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Why was the HomeSafe Alliance Contract Terminated?
According to the Pentagon, the troubled Global Household Goods Contract (GHC) with HomeSafe Alliance (HSA) was terminated “due to HSA’s demonstrated inability to fulfill their obligations and deliver high-quality moves to Service members.”
The original Global Household Goods Contract aimed to centralize and modernize the process of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves for military families.
It was intended to replace a multi-vendor system with a single “one-stop shopping” concept that promised seamless moves, improved communication, and more efficient claims processing. This was intended to reduce stress and enhance military readiness.
HomeSafe Alliance encountered difficulties from the start of the project. In January 2025, the company had completed only 688 test moves, a small number compared to the actual demand.
HomeSafe Alliance vs. “Unexpected Challenges”
By April in the same year, only a quarter of domestic moves were assigned to HSA, leading to thousands of moves being rerouted back to the old system. The company acknowledged “unexpected challenges” but failed to provide effective solutions for persistent delays and missed deadlines, indicating a significant lack of operational capacity.
Some believe the cancellation aligns with the current administration’s push to identify inefficiency and waste within the federal government, but the handling of the entire affair from the awarded contract to its eventual cancellation has proved to be a major disruption to the military assignment system including factors such as housing, school enrollments, and military spouse employment.
After Effects of Contract Cancellation
The cancellation is a logistical headache for the DoD. The DoD decided on the vendor, cancelled its contract, and will likely be required to pay “termination costs” or related expenses typically incurred by cancelling a legally binding agreement between the government and a private vendor.
In addition, the DoD still needs a global household goods shipment contractor. In the interim, stopgap PCS move plans may incur higher expenses as the DoD pays premium rates to ensure moves proceed.
The Pentagon has discussed moves to “reduce the burden of permanent changes of station by reducing their numbers entirely” but this would require such a large overhaul of the entire military assignment system that the plan seems unattainable, at least in the minds of those with broader context, training, and experience with the DoD permanent change of station system.
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About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
