Pentagon Eyes Fewer PCS Moves for Troops to Cut Costs

The Pentagon plans to reduce how often service members and their families are required to move in an effort to save money and reduce stress.

Defense officials have not offered a blueprint for how to make changes, but are asking the military services to come up with their own ideas.

Permanent change-of-station (PCS) moves generally occur every 18-36 months. But Tim Dill, who is performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told reporters May 28 that the practice needs to be scaled back in order to trim the $5 billion the DOD spends annually on PCS moves.

A May 22 Pentagon memo directs the military to cut PCS spending by 10 percent in fiscal 2027, 30 percent in 2028, 40 percent in 2029, and 50 percent in 2030. 

Pentagon officials say the new policy is not only aimed at driving down costs but is also intended to eliminate a major headache for service members and their families. The changes could make home life more stable for troops and their families, but may limit what service members learn about the wider military and subsequent job opportunities.

“While these … 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,” the memo states.

A recent Pentagon survey highlighted the need to reform the system that rotates more than 400,000 troops and their families around the globe each year. The survey found that a growing number of military spouses of active-duty personnel are frustrated by the difficulty of finding employment, arranging child care, and securing reimbursements for moving costs after heading to a new base. The problems are substantial enough that about one-third of Active-duty spouses want their family to leave the military for civilian life.

The military services are directed to come up with a plan within 120 days of the memo issued by Jay Hurst, who is performing the duties of the Pentagon’s top personnel official. That means plans are due in late September, just days before the end of fiscal 2025.

A major challenge will be devising new promotion policies so that troops don’t lose out on vital job experience as they hold fewer positions over the course of their careers. 

In preparing their plans, the services must review how fewer PCS moves could impact the careers of both officers and enlisted personnel. To this end, the services are to create “promotion authorities necessary to retain uniquely skilled individuals in positions for longer periods,” the memo said.

The memo also suggests that services “permit some officers and [noncommissioned officers] to specialize in lieu of gaining generalized experience across a range of functions.” 

The Department of the Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it plans to implement the new policy.

The new changes were presaged in a May 20 memo in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth cited “recent deficiencies” in moving services and established a “PCS task force” to examine the issue. The military has begun transitioning to a new system intended to make PCS moves smoother but is grappling with complaints of shoddy performance by moving companies.

Some military officials have already spoken in favor of fewer moves and other measures aimed at making job assignments more flexible in order to retain talent.

“We have to let Marines pick their own duty station,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said May 1. “If you let a Marine write his own tasking statement, he’ll get it right 100 percent of the time.”

:That’s what we do as Marines: We move every three years,” Smith added. “Why? Because that’s what we do. Well, why? Because that’s what we do. Well, why? I mean, it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

In a statement, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said the military departments should “gradually reduce discretionary move budgets” and “reduce overall PCS frequency for military and civilian personnel.”

“Through this careful examination, the Department will identify ways to balance mission with efficiency and military family needs,” added Parnell, who also serves as senior advisor to Hegseth.

The Pentagon did not immediately define “discretionary” and “mandatory” moves, though Dill pointed to in-residence attendance at professional military education programs—such as his own experience at the Army’s Captains Career Course—when asked about “discretionary” moves. 

“Lower-priority PCS moves should be reduced,” the memo said.