Department of Defense's Household Goods Transportation Program

The President of Interstate Van Lines, Inc., alleged that millions of dollars in salaries, space, facilities, and equipment are being spent unnecessarily each year to administer the Department of Defense's (DOD) household goods transportation program. DOD spends over $800 million annually to move military members' personal property. It deals with hundreds of transportation companies and hundreds of thousands of service members. The Department believes it is necessary to have trained personnel to administer and control the program to ensure high quality service at the lowest overall cost to the Government. Close supervision of the program is essential if morale is to be sustained. The personnel assigned to manage the movement of personal property in a peacetime environment are considered an integral part of the military logistical system, and these personnel would be called on to assist in the movement of essential cargo in an emergency or wartime situation. The observation that some military transportation offices are overstaffed may be true at certain times of the year; one of biggest problems of DOD is managing resources required for a wartime emergency given only peacetime workloads to accomplish. Over the past 10 years, many aspects of the military household goods program have been reviewed, and subsequent reports have resulted in millions of dollars in savings and improved services.