Preparing for my first true PCS, what to know?

[Jim123]

party like it's 1969 when you drive downtown or to the beach on the weekends.

Or party like it's 1699...

 

[villanelle]

Oh, and don't forget to take the filter out of your coffee maker. International move + wet coffee grounds + dark enclosed space= new coffee maker.

 

[KBayDog]

With respect to TLE though - how do I know how much my rate is per day (i.e. what hotel/s to pick along the way) and how do I claim it?

I'll try and break this down jet pilot-style, but I encourage you to attend a Smooth Move class, if one's available (check with F&FS or PSD). Additionally, the following is for the Marine side of the house, but if I'm correct, these entitlements are universal:

There are two types of travel expenses: Your stuff, and you.

YOUR STUFF: Pretty much your household goods, cars you're not traveling in, boats, time machines, etc. All handled through DPS. You really need to talk to the Personal Property Office...do not try to figure it out through DPS. HHG moves are confusing enough, and DPS has added a new, non-user-friendly level of friction into the moving process. As for the vehicle you travel in, your mileage is handled as part of the normal travel claim process. However, keep receipts for gas, tolls, fluids, etc. - those are handled through the PPO. (I won't say any more, since each service handles that portion differently.)

YOU: Essentially, it's like any other travel claim for cross-country travel, and it's all handled through IPAC/CPAC/PSD/whatever your installation admin section is called. Again, consult with them, but you pretty much rate Per Diem, mileage, TLE, and DLA for your move.

In no particular order:

TLE is Temporary Lodging Expense. It's used at either your old or your new duty station (Corpus or Whiting), or both. Basically, you might need a place to stay when all of your household goods are on the truck and you're living out of a suitcase. You rate up to 10 days of TLE. You can use it for house hunting, a place to stay after your household goods have been taken (or, on the other end, until they arrive), etc. It is not for travel enroute. The thing about TLE is that you have to try and stay at gov't quarters first. If no gov't quarters are available, you'll need a statement of non-availability from the base lodging (if there is one on the base you're moving from/to). In other words, if you're coming to Whiting and you need a place to stay when you get here, you have to stay at the BOQ at Whiting. When you're done with TLE, just keep the receipt and settle it with PSD as part of your normal travel claim. BTW, the BOQ at Whiting is pretty nice (2-room suite, full fridge, microwave, stove, 2 TVs, etc.) and ~$45/night on orders.

Example: When Mrs KBay and I arrived at our new duty station, we had to stay at the BOQ for a few days until our HHG arrived. Even after our stuff showed up, it still took a little time for the house to be "livable," so we kept our room at the Q. No biggie. It was also refreshing to get the hell out of our maze of boxes for a few hours and live like "normal" people.

Per Diem: Enroute, there are no restrictions as to where you stay. Travel enroute is handled just like normal "cross-country" travel. You rate per diem (something like $123/day for you, and $90/day for dependents currently, but check on the actual rates before you travel). The day you leave and the day you check in you get 75% of that amount. Essentially, just like on a cross-country, how far that $123 goes is all on you. If you stay at the Sheraton and eat at Ruth's Chris each night, your $$ won't go as far as if you stay in a van down by the river and eat peanut butter and jelly sammiches. Also, you only get per diem for your authorized travel days. If you rate 5 days of travel but take 25 days of leave enroute, you only get per diem for those 5. Handled through PSD.

Mileage: Something along the lines of $.45/mile. The mileage is figured out through JFTR mileage charts. If you go form Corpus to Whiting via Montana, you're only going to get reimbursed for the VFR-direct portion from Corpus to Whiting. Your enroute delay is on you. Handled through PSD.

Dislocation Allowance: 1x/yr, a fixed amount based on your pay grade and marital status. "Free money" is the catch phrase (though you should know by now that nothing is ever free), but it's designed for the miscellaneous expenses of moving - house/utility deposits, etc. Handled through PSD.

Hope some of this helps - it's not all-inclusive, but it'll get you pointed in the right direction. I pretty much just started typing, so if it's incoherent, my bad. Again, to get current information about what you rate (and to answer your specific questions), you need to talk to PSD, PPO, and/or attend a Smooth Move class before you pull chocks from Corpus and move to the chock-less world of South Whiting.

Best of luck with your move.

 

[Brunes]

Oh, and don't forget to take the filter out of your coffee maker. International move + wet coffee grounds + dark enclosed space= new coffee maker.

This is a good idea to extend-Empty the trash, make sure clean and dirty laundry are boxed seperate. Make sure everything is dry. Etc etc-If it can mold, damage a box or something else in the box, or is gross- Think about it very carefully-Imagine the dumbest thing they could do with it.
Put everything you do not want them to pack in on room and close the door. Then watch that door like a hawk. They will pack EVERYTHING.

Example-We had to take the closet door off the hinges to get the washer/dryer into the utility closet...Same for getting it out. The hinge pins were on the counter...They got packed. They also packs some perishable food items that I didn't realize were still in the kitchen. Luckily my move was only over a weekend- but coulda gotten REAL bad.

KBay hit it with TLE....You will get per diem/mileage for the road trip part of your move-TLE is to cover the time spent at yourold or new station in commercial lodging while you get packed up/set up. IIRC it's like 10 days @ a max of $290 / day. I'm not sure but I think someone told me once that you have to use gov't quarters if they are available...but your Admin folks should be able to clear that up.

 

[DanMa1156]

I'll try and break this down jet pilot-style, but I encourage you to attend a Smooth Move class, if one's available (check with F&FS or PSD). Additionally, the following is for the Marine side of the house, but if I'm correct, these entitlements are universal:

There are two types of travel expenses: Your stuff, and you.

...

This post was immensely helpful. Thank you so much - clears up almost all of my questions; I think it should be stickied somewhere...

 

[borednstoked]

I'm heading to OCS March 4th but am contemplating moving my stuff to storage February 1st then staying with the in-laws for about a month. I have been shopping around and bouncing ideas off of some friends but thought I would pose some questions here. Does anyone have experience using smart move or PODS? I'm thinking to have everything packed up in one of these storage containers and then have it shipped to RI once I know when I will graduate OCS and move into my new home for Supply School. Are there any concerns I should consider before settling on this? The estimate is nearly $4k from Los Angeles to R.I. including storagefor 4months. They will pack/unpack everything and include weight receipts. Is that more than I would probably see in reimbursement? My car will already be in RI so its just the household goods in the containers. Thanks in advance.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Thanks for the refresher Kbay.....I'm in the middle of PCS #5, and I'll have to remember all those bullets when it comes time to file my claim. Should be a sizeable chunk of change, even w/o a partial dity.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Dislocation Allowance: 1x/yr, a fixed amount based on your pay grade and marital status. "Free money" is the catch phrase (though you should know by now that nothing is ever free), but it's designed for the miscellaneous expenses of moving - house/utility deposits, etc. Handled through PSD.

And if I remember correctly, this is 1x/FY - I seem to remember getting 2 DLA's in the same CY, because I crossed into a new FY...

 

[MasterBates]

You can get 2 (or more) DLAs in a FY, but the second and beyond are at a reduced rate.

I got 3 on FY07 and 2 in FY08

07
JAX-CORPUS
CORPUS-KROCK
KROCK-CORPUS

08
CORPUS-KROCK
KROCK-NORFOLK
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