‘People-First Policy’: Pentagon Orders Relief For Military Families Constantly On The Move

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon charged the armed services to draw up plans to reduce the frequency of service-related moving for military families, according to a memo released Wednesday.

Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Jay Hurst III ordered all military services to provide an implementation plan within 120 days to reduce permanent changes of station (PCS) budgets by at least 10% by fiscal year 2027 all the way up to 50% by fiscal year 2030, relative to fiscal year 2026 levels. The Department of Defense (DoD) currently spends an average of $5 billion each year moving military members and their families, acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Tim Dill told reporters Wednesday.

“I describe this as people-first policy,” Dill told reporters Wednesday. “It also has a second objective, which is that if what we hear from service members and their families is that it’s difficult to move, or that PCS moves are disruptive, and we hear that when those are necessary for the mission they need to happen, but if there are some of those that are not necessary for the mission, we can accomplish the mission a different way.”

The memo also tasks the services to propose modifications around commissioned and noncommissioned officer career guidelines to enable them to stay close to their current base while still preserving opportunities to advance their career. Military families move every two to three year on average, according to the Pentagon.

“While these permanent change of station (PCS) moves support mission requirements, the frequency can reduce quality of life for Service members and their families, harm spousal employment, and disrupt functional communities, unit cohesion, and long-term talent management,” Hurst wrote in the memo.