JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Military families face a web of uncertainty as a new moving contract rolls out nationwide. It’s designed to fix long-standing issues with military moves by providing a single move manager — HomeSafe Alliance.
In 2025, the Defense Personal Property Program will begin implementing the Global Household Goods Contract (GHC) — a new initiative designed to streamline military relocations for Defense Department and Coast Guard personnel.
However, not everyone is convinced that this new system will improve the process.
Under the GHC, military families will experience a more corporate-like moving process, similar to using services like Amazon or FedEx. The contract introduces HomeSafe Alliance as the single move manager, handling everything from packing and shipping to storage and unpacking.
This means that HomeSafe will be the exclusive option for military families during relocations, eliminating the previous system of multiple moving companies handling military moves.
For Megan Harless, a military spouse who has moved 11 times in 19 years, the shift to a single-source manager is concerning. She’s even started a petition protesting the change.
“It feels a lot like privatization,” Harless said. ”In the military, we’ve seen a lot of issues with privatizing our quality-of-life sectors, one of them being housing.”
She and her husband have already decided to move themselves next time they need to relocate, even if it means paying out of pocket. They don’t trust that HomeSafe Alliance has the experience to move their belongings safely.
“Having that peace of mind of being able to move ourselves, being able to know our stuff is going to get picked up and get handled, and packed appropriately is worth it,” Harless said.
A spokesperson for HomeSafe Alliance tells News4Jax the company is leading historic change by digitizing the moving experience. They remain committed to providing an exceptional moving service for military families.
While the GHC aims to improve efficiency, some industry leaders warn that handing full control to a single company could cause long-term issues.
Michael Brannigan, President and CEO of Jacksonville-based Suddath Companies, believes the lack of competition could lead to service problems for military families and eventually a price hike on military moves.
Suddath Companies bid for the GHC when it was first announced. They were originally awarded the contract in 2020 before it was re-awarded to HomeSafe Alliance.
“There’s some fundamental flaws with this program,” Brannigan said. “There are about 350,000 plus moves every year that happen in this program, and [HomeSafe has] done less than 1,000 over that period of time.”
HomeSafe clarified they’ve completed 1,300 moves. A spokesperson explains that those numbers are low because the GHC program is in the very early developmental stages, and the Department of Defense only began assigning significant move volume to HomeSafe as of January 2025.
Suddath has filed a lawsuit urging the federal claims court to consider terminating the contract.
Brannigan warns that removing experienced movers from the process could negatively impact both military families and the moving industry.
“If you replace those who understand military moves with people who don’t, I don’t see how it’s going to create a good experience—especially during such a stressful time," Brannigan said.
HomeSafe Alliance is expected to take over all domestic military moves by May 2025. However, industry leaders like Brannigan are calling on Congress to pause the program and reassess its long-term impact.
Harless, as someone directly impacted by this change, agrees.
“I think having that one company in charge of things removes that incentive for them to perform,” Harless said. “So it feels like they can kind of do whatever they want to do and it’s fine because they’ve got billions of dollars coming into them, regardless of how they perform.”
The GHC is scheduled to run through 2027.
A spokesperson for HomeSafe said in a statement to News4Jax, "Improvements include our modern IT platform, a digital inventory of all belongings, sophisticated barcoding technology for boxes, and 24/7 personalized customer care.
The new GHC program is facing headwinds from those in the moving industry who want to preserve the status quo, the old move system that has repeatedly failed military families, but the GHC is the future of military moving. HomeSafe is dedicated to providing exceptional, modern moving experiences to all military families around the globe."
