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

[Guest echofox]

For the weight tickets, can I get both the empty and full truck weights done in the same town? The place I'm leaving from has no certified scales close by. The place I'm PCSing to has one in town. Can I bring the truck there when I arrive, get it weighed, then unload and take it to the same place again?

[Guest Boom]

For the weight tickets, can I get both the empty and full truck weights done in the same town? The place I'm leaving from has no certified scales close by. The place I'm PCSing to has one in town. Can I bring the truck there when I arrive, get it weighed, then unload and take it to the same place again?

You can get a weight ticket from your departing base, enroute, or at your arriving base.

[Vetter]

I got my TMO briefings a few weeks ago and every single person in the office (all government civilian types from Columbus, MS) had a different comprehension of the regs. They have no clue what's going on and I walked out of there with a headache. So I'm going to wiegh my truck and trailer seperately. When I get to DM, I am going to use my truck only as my empty weight and my truck/trailer combo as the loaded. If they balk, then I'll submit a copy of the trailer weight. From what I hear, a lot of it depends on the destination TMO office.

I have the same question, but no answer. Anyone?

Edited January 22, 2008 by Vetter

[Finance_Guy]

The new DLA rates from the 3.5% payraise are updated. If anyone has arrived to their New PDS 1 Jan or after, they should see finance and request a supplemental payment voucher for the increased amount if authorized.

See attachment.

DLA_Rates_3_5__Retro_1_Jan_08.doc

Edited February 2, 2008 by Finance_Guy

[ucf_motorcycle]

If my orders are cut when I am an O1 but when my PCS is complete I become an O2 (during a TDY enroute). Do I get paid the O1 or O2 rate for DLA?

[schokie]

If my orders are cut when I am an O1 but when my PCS is complete I become an O2 (during a TDY enroute). Do I get paid the O1 or O2 rate for DLA?

I was in that same situation a few years back and I was payed the O1 rate for DLA and other moving expenses. I don't know where to look to find that in writing though. It's possible I was just screwed over by finance.

[vsu8992]

How does Finnance/TMO check for proof of ownership on trailers ? I have a trailer on the family farm (in my parents name) that i'm thinking of borrowing for my DITY. All they check for are the before and after weight tickets right ?

[Herk Driver]

How does Finnance/TMO check for proof of ownership on trailers ? I have a trailer on the family farm (in my parents name) that i'm thinking of borrowing for my DITY. All they check for are the before and after weight tickets right ?

I've had to produce the registration before, but not all the time. You can certaily borrow a trailer to do a DITY, but I wouldn't try to claim the trailer weight since I didn't own it. It's just not worth the few extra bucks you get.

[Finance_Guy]

Possible ... I'd say it's likely you got screwed by finance ... there's a war on you know, so they try to save money (sarcasm)

Yeah, you know it's all their money, so every dime they can keep makes them richer (a joke).

But to answer the question refer to 65-114, Chapter 8.

8.29.3. Promotions after PCS Order Issuance. Members, promoted after PCS orders issuance and on or before the effective date of orders, are authorized DLA based on the higher grade. Examples of valid evidence are:

8.29.3.1. Promotion orders or a “MD” print from the MMPA.

Now you ask, "What's my effective date of orders?" Effective date of orders is calculated like this:

Take the date you signed in to your new unit minus all authorized PCS travel time, Proceed time and any TDY enroute days and that's the effective date. It is essentially the date you would have been required to depart your last PDS in order to perform your travel and TDY. To provide an example: Scenario, Arrived New PDS on 15 Jan 2008. Orders allowed 5 days PCS travel time and also directed a TDY enoute for 60 days.

Sign in date minus 5 days PCS and 60 days TDY gives me an effective date of orders of 11 Nov 2007.

Some would say, well I reported on 15 Jan 08 so I should get the higher rate. Not so, you would get the rate of DLA (based on your rank at that time) that was in effect on 11 Nov. If you promotion was after 11 Nov as 8.29.3 mentions, then you get the prior rank rate.

None of you provided dates, so I cannot tell if you were "Screwed" or not. I would suspect your payment was done correctly since Finance normally doesn't manually compute this, their automated travel computation system does.

Edited February 2, 2008 by Finance_Guy

[ucf_motorcycle]

Youve answered my question as well. It pretty much seems you have to make the rank prior to departing the old duty station. When the orders are actually printed doesn't matter. In my case I am screwed as I make my rank after I depart and during my TDY enroute like I mentioned in my previous post.

[MilitaryToFinance]

Another rule pertaining to DITY moves changed not too long ago. You are ENTITLED to 90 days of temporary storage for your DITY move weight. In the past, TMO just reimbursed the actual cost of this storage. The change is now TMO MUST reimburse you 90% (or whatever the standard DITY rate is) of what it would cost the AF to store that weight. It's a significant chunk o money. You have to actually have a paid storage area, but the difference in the rate b/w 3 months at the u-store-it joint and what the AF pays movers to warehouse stuff is HUGE.

Any idea if this applies to new LT's? My lease on my house ends the day I graduate/commission. It would be great if I could get the AF to pay to store my stuff at the local U-Store-It or whatever until I actually PCS. If not I'm going to have to haul everything from Atlanta back up to my home in Cincinnati on my own dime and use that as my location to move from. Will be much more of a pain.

Also, I haven't seen the TDY en-route question answered. It's 95% sure I'll go TDY to ASBC enroute to my first duty station. So if I do a partial DITY move obviously I'll get paid the PCS rate when I move from ASBC out to Peterson but what about the trip from my house to ASBC? I'll be doing a DITY move so I should get reimbursed for the weight but I'm also TDY so I should get the higher per diem right? Or both?

[Baseops.Net]

Allright folks, sorry about my delay in getting this great information consolidated.

Here is my first crack at it: Baseops PCS Advice Webpage

Please check out my work and let me know of any corrections / addiions / deletions, etc. If there is a better way to organize this please let me know as well. Let's gather more lessons learned and add to this list.

As soon as I get my server / software issues straightened out, I may turn this page into a WIKI so that you can contribute directly on the page...

[USMCAirWinger]

So let's say I PCS, but for reasons beyond my control (medical emergency) I have to PCS again to a different training location after two months. My unit is saying that I only rate one PCS and may owe money back. What about DLA?

[Jaded]

Finance put the wrong constructed cost on my travel voucher during my PCS this month. I have documentation from TMO that shows the proper amount, but on my orders the incorrect amount is shown. Finance is saying they will not reimburse the correct amount, only the amount on my orders. I'm sure if I had been overpaid, they would have no problem making the correction. Anybody have any insight on how I can convince them to do their job, or have a good JFTR section I can highlight and bring in to them?

[Toro]

So let's say I PCS, but for reasons beyond my control (medical emergency) I have to PCS again to a different training location after two months. My unit is saying that I only rate one PCS and may owe money back. What about DLA?

Go back to this post on page 5. Short answer, it's doable, but your DLA may be at a reduced rate.

Finance put the wrong constructed cost on my travel voucher during my PCS this month... I have documentation from TMO that shows the proper amount, but on my orders the incorrect amount is shown. Finance is saying they will not reimburse the correct amount, only the amount on my orders. I'm sure if I had been overpaid, they would have no problem making the correction. Anybody have any insight on how I can convince them to do their job, or have a good JFTR section I can highlight and bring in to them?

What do you mean by constructed cost? If your orders are jacked up, go back to MPF, explain the situation, and have them amend your orders.

[Jaded]

Go back to this post on page 5. Short answer, it's doable, but your DLA may be at a reduced rate.

What do you mean by constructed cost? If your orders are jacked up, go back to MPF, explain the situation, and have them amend your orders.

Can they amend my orders after I've already PCS'ed? If so, that'd pretty much fix everything.

[Toro]

Can they amend my orders after I've already PCS'ed? If so, that'd pretty much fix everything.

I'm sure it won't be easy (nothing with MPF ever is), but they should be able to do it...especially if they screwed it up to begin with. They're not re-doing your orders, they are simply doing up an additional form that says your original orders need to be altered. It's a Form 973 - the part you're concerned with is section 5 ("Item XXX as reads...is amended to read...")

Print that form and take it to MPF with your original orders and supporting documentation (from TMO and whatever else you have). As always, MPF will probably stonewall you less if you act like you've researched the problem and know what you're talking about.

[BADFNZ]

I am currently at OTS, a few weeks from my commission date. All my HHG are in a storage unit in Dallas, ready to be moved to my next base, which is Laughlin. We had our TMO brief and they told us that not only will the movers not enter a storage unit, they won't move anything that's already boxed. She told me I would have to move everything out of storage, unbox it, then they'd pick it up. WTFO? I asked if there was some waiver I could sign saying I take responsibility for the condition of the HHGs but she said there was no such waiver. So is this true or does she not know what she's talking about?

This brings up another question. Since it looks like I'll be doing a DITY now, is there a way to figure out what the AF would pay for the move, so I could figure out how much I'd get reimbursed? I got a quote from a moving company for $2900 which seems like a lot for such a short move, so I want to see what I'd get if I did a DITY. Is TMO the only source for this or is there a formula/rate used?

Edited April 8, 2008 by BADFNZ

[Techsan]

I am currently at OTS, a few weeks from my commission date. All my HHG are in a storage unit in Dallas, ready to be moved to my next base, which is Laughlin. We had our TMO brief and they told us that not only will the movers not enter a storage unit, they won't move anything that's already boxed. She told me I would have to move everything out of storage, unbox it, then they'd pick it up. WTFO? I asked if there was some waiver I could sign saying I take responsibility for the condition of the HHGs but she said there was no such waiver. So is this true or does she not know what she's talking about?

In all 5 moves I've had in the AF, if I have something already boxed up from say the previous move, the moving company will want to unpack that and pack it up themselves. I usually just tell them that its ok, and they add the comments 'CP' to the inventory, meaning 'Customer packed'. Therefore, if something is damaged in that box, they are not responsible for the damages. I obviously don't work for TMO or JPSO, so I can't tell you for sure. Its sounds like she doesn't know much of what she's talking about.

[Guest lynne]

My SIL will be grauating from ASBC in August. He is supposed to report to his first base 2 days after his graduation. His wife will probably not accompany him to ASBC. Given that there is only 2 days to report, we're assuming he won't be around to help his wife with the move from MA (to Little Rock). Can his wife show up a week or two earlier to look for an apartment in Little Rock? Would she be reimbursed if she stayed in a hotel off base during that time or would she be able to stay in Base Lodging? Would their household goods be shipped before ASBC? We're all wondering if any newly married couples have had the same situation and how they handled their move. Sorry if this topic had already been discussed but if you could steer us in the right direction for any help it would be appreciated. Thanks from A Worried Mom.

[The Kayla]

My SIL will be grauating from ASBC in August. He is supposed to report to his first base 2 days after his graduation. His wife will probably not accompany him to ASBC. Given that there is only 2 days to report, we're assuming he won't be around to help his wife with the move from MA (to Little Rock). Can his wife show up a week or two earlier to look for an apartment in Little Rock? Would she be reimbursed if she stayed in a hotel off base during that time or would she be able to stay in Base Lodging? Would their household goods be shipped before ASBC? We're all wondering if any newly married couples have had the same situation and how they handled their move. Sorry if this topic had already been discussed but if you could steer us in the right direction for any help it would be appreciated. Thanks from A Worried Mom.

If you stay in TLF for I think, 10days, Finance will pay you back. You have to give them the invoice from TFL. She can stay in TFL/Billeting ($36 for TLF, and $27 for Billeting a night) and it would probably be cheaper then staying in a hotel off base.

Also, if She an sit tight, and wait for her husband to inprocess, he can then take leave to go back to MA to help her move.

The household goods can be shipped at anytime, as long as they have orders. If her household goods are shipped on May 9th, and get to little rock before she even gets there, they will be put into storage.

Do they want to live on base? If they do NOT want to live on base, she can move to little rock during ASBC at anytime. If she wants to move on base, He has to get a waiver signed, since he is not 'really' stationed at that base until he inprocesses.

I had to do the PCS by myself. My husband went straight from OTS to ASBC, before we knew he was going to ASBC we had an argeement with a tenat to rent our house... so I had to be out of the house by X-date. If she has anymore questions, please feel free to PM me.. :-)

[Toro]

Lynne,

I've moved your question. If you're a mom, then much of this will probably be Greek to you (as it would be to my mom), but you can refer your son in law to the thread. To answer some questions that may be specific to his case -

Given that there is only 2 days to report, we're assuming he won't be around to help his wife with the move from MA (to Little Rock).

Depends on a couple things. Is he TDY enroute (I would assume) or TDY out and back? If he is TDY enroute, then two days for him to get from Alabama to Arkansas should be enough. All he has to do to 'report' is step in the door and say, "Hey, I'm here," then go tend to his personal matters. Also, when is he planning on moving his household goods? He can have them picked up as soon as he has orders - which I would recommend doing.

Can his wife show up a week or two earlier to look for an apartment in Little Rock?Would she be reimbursed if she stayed in a hotel off base during that time or would she be able to stay in Base Lodging?

She can show up whenever she wants (with orders) - but you are only 'allowed' a certain number of days in billeting for a PCS (I think 30). Past that, you are allowed to stay on a space available basis, but it sounds like a couple weeks should be plenty.

Ditto Kayla on the reimbursement and shipping household goods.

[john]

im pcs in not too long and am starting to plan a dity. as far as weight tickets go, would i weigh the rental truck, my car (packed and towed), my wifes all seperately?

[ViperStud]

Another question...

I'm about to PCS and I have two dogs. Is staying on any bases along the way an option or are all AF inns/TLF no-pets? Am I on my own finding hotels along the way where I can stay with the mutts?

[Butters]

im pcs in not too long and am starting to plan a dity. as far as weight tickets go, would i weigh the rental truck, my car (packed and towed), my wifes all seperately?

Depends. Are you towing one of the cars or driving three?

If you are driving all three they all get weighed empty and full separately. If you are towing one, I am not sure they keep changing the rules. I do know that if you rent the trailer the weight of the trailer does not count, if you own the trailer you get paid for the weight. I did hear that if your spouse is moving with you, they will pay for the weight of one car to be towed, but I am not positive. Ask several people at TMO and take the average of all the answers you get. I have never in 14 years gotten the same answer from them.