JPPSOWA provides moving advice, service for shipment

The moving process can be a highly stressful and time-consuming activity and for those in the military, it is experienced on a frequent basis.

Officials of the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office of the Washington Area strive to provide support and guidance for Soldiers, DoD civilians and their families during the relocation process.

According to its Web site, the mission of the JPPSOWA Washington Area is to provide services for shipment, receipt and storage of personal property for military and civilian members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard moving into, within or out of the geographic area specified for the Washington Area.
There are 12 JPPSO at various installations throughout the Washington area and anyone with DoD orders for relocation can go to any of those to receive counseling and to
apply for shipping or storage.

Each of those offices send those applications to the headquarters at Fort Belvoir to process the paperwork and counselors at Belvoir set up the bookings and put the customers into contact with their respective carrier.

"We have hundreds of moving companies that we work with," Col. Kathleen Pedersen, commander of JPPSOWA Washington Area, said. "Those companies work with agents who run the warehouses and do the work and DoD has contracts with these companies."

Pedersen noted there are several things a Soldier can do to make the move smoother and easier.

"First thing is, customers need to get rid of stuff they don't want or need, because they are limited by weight to how much they can move," Pedersen said. "If they exceed their weight entitlement, we will still move it, but the excess cost will be billed to them by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service."

Pedersen also noted it is essential to be prepared when the movers come and record your high-value items and items of sentimental value.

"I suggest if customers have a camcorder or camera, to take pictures of these items and make sure they save the receipts from when they purchased those items," Pedersen said. "That way, the condition upon shipment is verifiable."

For items customers don't want the movers to move, Pedersen advised what should be done to ensure that stuff wouldn't be packed.

"Things customers definitely don't want the movers to move should be put into their car or separated from the stuff they do want moved," Pedersen said. "A lot of moving crews work rapidly and it can be difficult to say 'oh, don't pack that' with five or six movers in various rooms working.

"Every year, we have people call and say 'they packed my passport' or something like that and those people have to pay out of their own pocket to go to the warehouse and search their boxes," Pedersen said.

Another option, Pedersen said, is to put signs on objects you are giving away or anything else you don't want moved.

Should any problems arise or if you have questions during the course of your move, Pedersen urges people to check the Web site or contact the JPPSOWA which has an on-call NCO.

More information is available from belvoir.army.mil/jppsowa.