A permanent change of station gives you a report date and a long list of things to do before it. This checklist puts them in the order they usually happen, so the first call you make is the right one.
The seven steps in order
Work through these in sequence, because each one depends on the one before it.
- Get your orders in hand. Nothing else can be booked without them, and a Personally Procured Move needs a valid set of orders.
- Contact your installation transportation office or Personal Property Office for counseling on your move options.
- Decide between a government-arranged shipment and a Personally Procured Move, covered in government move vs PPM.
- Book or schedule through the Defense Personal Property System, reached from Military OneSource. How DPS works walks through it.
- Plan the packing, the pickup date and anything that must travel with you rather than on the truck.
- Decide what needs storage, using non-temporary storage or storage you arrange yourself.
- Inspect your goods at delivery, note anything damaged on the paperwork, and keep every document.
Start with the date you can leave your home
The report date is fixed, but the date your household can actually leave is the one that drives the schedule. Work backward from it: lease notice, school records, utility shutoffs and the day the keys go back. Write those dates next to your report date before you call anyone, so the counselor and any mover you talk to hear the same timeline.
Sort what goes on the truck and what stays with you
Keep the documents and items you cannot replace with you in the car: orders, passports, medical records, jewelry, medications and a few days of clothes. Everything else is a candidate for the shipment. Take a few minutes to photograph valuable items and write down serial numbers before the crew arrives, because that record helps if a claim is ever needed.
Heavy or fragile pieces such as a piano, a pool table or fine art need to be named at the start. Your estimator or counselor can then plan for them instead of finding them on pickup day.
Where O'Brien's fits in the checklist
O'Brien's is DOD approved to move and store military household goods. Government-arranged shipments are assigned through DPS and your transportation office, so that office remains the authority on what your orders cover. For a PPM, or for storage and services you arrange yourself, call the Sparks office at 775-359-6683, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. A free in-home estimate comes with 10 free heavy-duty boxes, yours to keep.
Our Sparks warehouse keeps household goods in wooden vaults, 7 ft x 7 ft x 5 ft, with vault storage from $40 per month. Shipping stored goods out takes about 2 to 3 weeks notice, so build that into your timeline. More on this is on storage for military households.
Before you sign anything
- Confirm which services your orders cover and which you pay for yourself
- Ask how damage is reported and what the claim steps are for your type of move
- Keep copies of the inventory and condition report
- Write down who to call at your transportation office