how many military families move each year
Shelly, a mother of five children whose husband is in the Air Force, knows what that’s like. Active duty service members commit to the military full time often as a career. Most movers never even leave their own county, let alone their own state. "But it doesn't work that way. For a military child, it’s possible to have moved 10 times by the time they’re 12, and to change schools 6 to 9 times between kindergarten and high school graduation – it’s just what happens in the military. Short one year tours and even tour year tours usually only occure if you go to a difficult assignment without a family, or leave your family. And while losing the paintings was a financial burden, it’s not the worst thing contracted movers have done to her family over the years, Shelly said. 34% of movers relocated to a different county (including same-state and different-state moves). Lt. Col. Alan Brown stands in his garage, filled with boxes that will be sent to the family's new home in New York. "I haven't used those in a long time. All Rights Reserved. His wife Kristy says that's a streak of consistency compared to the seven moves they've made with the Army since getting married. Military OneSource can help make your move easier with helpful tips, resources and hands-on information. As he was reassigned, his faithful family followed, each time having to build new relationships and adjust to new surroundings. More than 100,000 people have signed a Change.org petition demanding better. Four of her children have special needs. But his three-year rotation is up and Brown is set to teach English at West Point in New York. “Troops and their families frequently have to pack up their lives to move across the country or even the world in the service of our nation,” he told TIME in a statement. The Average Military Family Moves Every Two to Three Years That's three times more frequently than the average civilian family. Thank you for reading TIME. During peak season, the contractors sometimes have to contract out more help. His family has lived in this house for three years. But that doesn’t help Mayes, who has waited months to be reunited with her prized possessions. This story is part of a project we're calling "Back at Base," in which NPR — along with public radio stations around the country — is chronicling the lives of America's troops where they live. The real reason the military moves so often is emotional detachment. So, to prevent emotional attachment, the military invests over $4 billion every year into relocating troops and families. How you get your stuff from one corner of the country or world to another depends on where you are headed and what kind of move you want to do. The Pentagon is also improving its data-reporting on the program. Traci Mayes knew there would be times her husband would be away when he joined the military. Together, that equals $12,120 of yearly income before you even get to pay. Subscribe for just $18. Every year, the U.S. military moves hundreds of thousands of service members and their families all across the globe. Each year, tens of millions of people in the US relocate from their place of birth or current residence to another location within the same city, county, state, country or abroad. “We recognize that with the exception of a deployment of a service member away from home, this is the second-most stressful time period that most service members and their families will experience.”. But instead of rolling the artwork into the tubes, Shelly, who asked that her last name not be used, says the movers folded her masterpieces and put them into boxes. When the family relocated from Maryland to Nebraska, the movers lost needles her daughter with spina bifida needs for medication, according to Shelly, who says it took a month and a half for the family to get new ones. "You got to go buy mops, you got to go buy cleaning supplies, you got to go buy ketchup and mustard and all the stuff that we have to leave behind," Brown said. About 40% of them take place in the summer. Subscribe for just $18. Only the Marines move families around a date, which is about Jun every year. In 2014, the Defense Department spent more than $4.3 billion on moving costs, but officials don't know where all that money is going. You have 2 free articles left. When her husband’s assignment required they move from Monterey, California, to Fort Meade in Maryland in 2014, she purchased cardboard packaging tubes for her pieces to ensure they’d arrive at her new destination safely. Outside of the summer months, about 95% of families report satisfactory moves, Clarke said. The United States Armed Forces orchestrates between 420,000 and 450,000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves for … Most tours with a family are 3 years, one year extensions can happen--moreso on overseas tours. TIME, therefore, was unable to reach the responsible party for comment. Subscribe for just $18. It took more crates than he'd expected, but they were still under the limit. Among the common stresses involved in relocating to a new school are the differences in achievement standards, school protocol, course offerings, extracurricular activities, and academic requirements. Many of Them Don't Go Well. This is your last free article. She says her family has sacrificed too much to have to go through a complicated and disorderly ordeal every time they pack up their family so it can serve the country. Organizing Your Move. It adds up to fewer than 4 percent of the military's personnel budget. And her family isn’t alone. Though their claim was $26,000, she said her family “would be lucky to see $10,000 of that.”. Postings in Alaska are a year longer than in the lower 48 states because Alaska counts as an overseas rotation — similar to Korea or Germany. There is no incentive to shed. "Some of the services report it, some don't," said Brenda Farrell, who authored the report. The family has moved nine times in the four years she served in the Army, lastly as a battalion maintenance officer, and the 13 years her husband has, currently as a logistics officer. #milspouse Click To Tweet Subscribe for just $18. “We owe it to our service members and their families to ensure that the family relocation experience during the Permanent Change of Station is as low stress as possible,” Clarke says. But that didn’t prepare Mayes for what happened in August, when William received a new assignment and her family had to move closer to his base. For military moms, relocating their lives and uprooting their children is simply a way of life. More than 200 military families displaced by winter storm damage to their base housing; some wonder what’s next One of the many challenges that you will be faced with on your journey is a Permanent Change of Station ( PCS). Somewhere in or between Florida and Illinois, Mayes says, the moving company the military contracted to pack and ship the contents of their home lost or damaged $26,000 worth of furniture and prized possessions, including her 6-year-old son’s bed, her great grandmother’s jewelry, her children’s birth announcements and her husband’s golf clubs from his great-great grandfather. And the costs include more than freight. Moving can be full of new opportunities and new experiences – each one a little different. > View the seven most common mistakes military families make when moving to a new place The first four ranks are bringing in $2,904 in BAS each year, plus at least $9,216 in BAH each year. But Sakrisson did not provide a timeline, and GAO's Farrell says it will be more than a year before the working group begins meetings. Reservists are likely to have civilian jobs outside their Reserve commitments. Lt. Col. Alan Brown stands in his garage, filled with boxes that will be sent to the family's new home in New York. Since 2001, more than 2 million American children have had a parent deployed at least once. It looked at more than 10 years of data and found that basically the military doesn't keep great records on moving costs. Next to divorce and death of a relative, experts say that moving is rated as the third highest cause of stress. © 2021 TIME USA, LLC. That means, every summer, thousands — if not tens of thousands — of Permanent Change of Station moves don’t go as planned for military families. Lt. Col. Alan Brown and his family are among the many that have had to move over and over again for his military career. Most military families move every 2 to 3 years, and some even more frequently. "Some of the services report it, but they don't report it for all years.". "We came up here for the stability, because before this we'd moved annually and that got quite challenging," she said. report last year by the Government Accountability Office. Other things you can’t really put a price on.”. National Guard units operate on a state level. The petition originated as an open letter posted to Facebook by Megan Harless, a stay-at-home mother of three. Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media For most of human history about .5% of the population died violently (murder or war) every year. Moving companies working with the military must be held to the highest standard of service, transparency and accountability.”.