DoD Aims to Transform Moves With a Standalone Agency by the End of 2026

The Personal Property Activity (PPA) could become a standalone agency before the end of 2026, Army Maj. Gen. Lance Curtis said at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference on October 13. Curtis cautioned that the timeline is not guaranteed.

The organization was established to address problems with military moves, including delayed shipments and damaged household goods. Since its creation, the PPA has expanded support for families through a centralized call center and earlier shipment booking windows, while extending the window for filing property claims. The department is also working toward formally establishing the PPA as a standalone agency.

We’ll look at what the transition could mean for military families, which PCS reforms are already underway, and what PCS advocates say still needs improvement.

Why Is the PCS Organization Becoming a Standalone Agency?

The effort to reorganize military moving services began in 2025, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appointed Army Maj. Gen. Lance Curtis to lead the PCS Joint Task Force. The task force brought together the military services’ property and transportation offices to address problems with household goods moves.

In January 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the PPA as a permanent Department of Defense special activity, replacing the temporary PCS Joint Task Force. The organization formally activated at Scott Air Force Base in September.

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Curtis compared the planned structure to the Defense Logistics Agency, which manages military supply chains, and the Defense Information Systems Agency, which provides IT services across the department.

When Will the PPA Become a Standalone Agency?

Curtis said the transition could happen before the end of 2026. Speaking at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference on October 13, he said the organization was working toward agency status while acknowledging that the schedule could change.

The PPA is already operating as a permanent activity, so the planned transition is a further step in its development rather than the creation of an entirely new organization.

Curtis did not provide a confirmed effective date or identify any new procedures that would take effect specifically because of agency status.

What Has the PPA Accomplished So Far?

The reorganization has already produced some changes. Curtis said the effort eliminated a backlog of 18,000 shipments and established centralized operations and a call center, according to Stars and Stripes. The report doesn’t identify the 18,000 shipments as the entire PCS backlog.

Families have also gained more time to plan moves and file certain claims. Federal News Network reported that service members with PCS orders can begin booking household-goods shipments 48 days earlier. The PCS property-claim filing window has also increased from nine months to 12 months.

Megan Harless, founder and PCS reform advocate at PCS Like A Pro, pointed to the planned move toward mobile access as a reform she welcomed. She said families have been asking for an easier way to set up and manage moves from their phones.

“Families have asked for making the process of setting up and managing easier, and that included being able to do it from our phones,” Harless said.

She noted that she understands the mobile transition is a two-year process and welcomed the effort to make setting up and managing moves easier from a phone.

But families are still reporting problems with the moving process. Harless said installation access, claims, and the financial costs of moving remain recurring concerns.

“There are three pain points that we routinely hear about each year,” Harless said.

She said families may be asked to sponsor unfamiliar moving crews onto installations, while claims can involve lengthy negotiations, questions over proof, and poor communication. She also pointed to out-of-pocket PCS costs, particularly for families moving to or from high-cost areas or completing an overseas move.

What Could Change for Military Families?

Officials have not released a detailed list of changes that would take effect specifically because the PPA becomes a standalone agency. For now, families should not assume the transition will automatically change shipment booking rules, claims procedures, or the support available during a move.

Harless said she would like to see the PPA become “a true one-stop shop,” including eventually addressing the financial side of PCS moves. Military families currently have to navigate different service policies and regulations for some entitlements, she said.

That would represent an expansion beyond the PPA’s currently stated personal-property mission, and officials have not announced that financial entitlements will become part of the new agency.

Harless also pointed to transparency as one way families could judge whether the new structure is working.

“I would like to see public data on the PPA website,” Harless said.

She said spouses may be the family members managing a move but cannot access some information currently behind a Common Access Card login. She would like families to have easier access to data such as transportation service provider performance, on-time pickups and deliveries, PCS Call Center results, and enforcement actions involving moving companies.

Harless also said families are looking for answers on issues such as expanded second-POV shipping options and higher household-goods weight allowances, particularly as family needs and PCS costs continue to change.

The larger question is what additional authority, resources, or accountability the PPA would gain as an agency and whether families will see measurable changes in their moving experience. Those details have not yet been publicly announced.

We reached out to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and the Department of Defense’s Personal Property Activity for additional comment on the transition but had not received responses by publication time.