Air Force Community - Air Force Times

Editorial: Make moving less painful

Whoever coined the name “Families First” for the military’s effort to overhaul its household goods shipping process was either the sunniest of optimists or the most cynical of jokesters.

The initiative was conceived to address longstanding complaints from troops, who account for 680,000 household shipments each year: excessive damage, poor service, a cumbersome claims process and more.

This overhaul has been in the works for an incredible 13 years. Yet it still has major problems, the Government Accountability Office said in a May 31 report.

Among the latest criticisms: The Defense Department still lacks a comprehensive, overarching plan that ties all the project’s pieces together. More specifically, the centerpiece of the effort — a new information management system — is now two years behind schedule and far over budget.

Fed up with the snail’s pace of reform, Congress has ordered the Pentagon to implement one of the program’s most important changes — providing full replacement value, rather than depreciated value, for damaged or lost household goods by next March, regardless of whether the new IT system works by then.

Even for a department that has never been a paragon of business efficiency, a 13-year reform effort is beyond the pale. But Congress, which has permitted this sad affair, and the moving industry, which has dragged its feet at key points along the way, share responsibility.

Lawmakers must clearly detail minimum expectations for all household goods moves, put them in law, and hold the Pentagon and the industry accountable by refusing to fund future moves until the system works.

Until and unless Congress makes this a priority, “Families First” will remain what it has been to military families for over a decade: a cruel joke.