Resources, guides, and news for military families navigating PCS moves, VA loans, benefits, and military life.
Dislocation Allowance is a one-time, tax-free payment that helps you set up a household after a PCS. It is not BAH, and it is not lodging. Here are the CY 2026 primary rates by grade, when partial DLA applies, and how to ask finance for it in advance.
Your household-goods weight allowance is a hard cap. Unaccompanied baggage, the main shipment, and non-temporary storage all count against it. Here is the JTR Table 5-37 chart by grade, plus the pro-gear pounds that sit outside the cap.
Stateside, you usually drive and the government pays MALT on official miles. Overseas, most orders ship one vehicle. Here is how to choose drive, ship, or store, and how the 1 July 2026 mileage rate is calculated.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act can cap interest at 6% on debt you took on before active duty. It is not automatic, it does not cover new debt you open while serving, and the creditor must forgive the excess interest, not just postpone it.
Temporary lodging is not a paid house-hunting vacation. CONUS TLE covers lodging near the old or new duty station for a limited number of days. Overseas, TLA covers the search for permanent housing after you arrive. Here is which clock you are on.
The moment that decides a PCS damage claim is delivery day, not the week you feel ready to deal with it. Note loss and damage before you sign, then file within the window your transportation office gives you. This site’s planner uses 75 days from delivery.
BAH stops when you leave the continental U.S. Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) pays rent and utilities by locality. Here is how OHA, COLA, government quarters, and the move timeline fit together before you sign a lease abroad.
MyCAA can fund up to $4,000 in education and training for eligible military spouses. Here is who qualifies, what programs count, how to avoid wasted certificates, and how to time coursework around a PCS.
A PCS can break primary care, referrals, prescriptions, and specialty queues if you wait until pack-out week. Here is how to transfer DEERS, pick a new PCM, move records, and protect EFMP and ECHO coverage on the way to the next base.
When you separate or retire, BAH stops and the housing math changes overnight. Use this ETS checklist to decide whether to sell, rent, keep, or buy with a VA loan, and which TAP and finance tasks protect the transition.
National Guard and Reserve housing pay is not automatic BAH every month. Here is when BAH or BAS kicks in on orders, how AGR differs from traditional drill status, and what families should budget before a mobilization or PCS-style move.
Concurrent receipt lets many retirees keep military retired pay and VA disability compensation without a full offset. Here is how CRDP and CRSC differ, who usually qualifies, and how the extra cash flow changes housing decisions.
Valid PCS or deployment orders of 90 days or more can end a residential lease early under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Here is the notice, timing, deposits, and landlord pushback playbook military families actually use.
A Personally Procured Move can put incentive pay in your pocket — or wipe a weekend and your back. Here is how weight tickets, advances, estimates, and risk math work before you rent the truck.
Air Force Birthday is September 18. In 1947 the U.S. Air Force became a separate service; in 2026 it turns 79. This guide covers Army Air Forces roots, jet-age change, NATO and Red Flag coalition flying, and how Congress created the U.S. Space Force on December 20, 2019 inside the Department of the Air Force.
The 2026 VA disability COLA is 2.8%, effective December 1, 2025. A 100% rating with no dependents pays $3,938.58 a month. The raise is automatic for compensation, TDIU, SMC, and DIC. Here is what changed, what did not, and how to check your deposit.
A service-connected disability rating can erase the VA funding fee or unlock a refund after closing. Here is who qualifies, how to prove it with your COE, and what to tell the lender before you sign.
As of September 1, 2026, Temporary Lodging Expense can extend from 21 days to as many as 60 when international shipping restrictions delay your household goods through no fault of your own. It is not automatic. Here is who qualifies, what to document, and how to keep the hotel bill from wrecking your PCS budget.
The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children keeps course credit, special education timing, and graduation paths from resetting every PCS. Here is what parents should bring to the new registrar.
PACT Act presumptives for burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic exposures are still live in 2026. VA has already processed millions of related claims. Here is who should file now, how Supplemental Claims work after a past denial, and what evidence still matters.
An August 3, 2026 executive order created the President's Military Spouse Commission to advise on housing, jobs, health care, education, and deployment support. It is not a new benefit by itself. Here is what the commission is, what it can change, and what spouses should do while it spins up.
Pets are family — and a PCS budget line. Here is how to plan crates, flights, quarantine, boarding, and the limited pet transportation reimbursements before the truck shows up.
The FY2026 NDAA locked in longer Child Care in Your Home authority, a high-cost-area fee assistance boost, and major CDC construction money. Those pilots are live policy in 2026, not a wish list. Here is what each one does, where it applies, and how to get on the right list before the next waitlist closes.
Basic pay rose 3.8% on January 1, 2026. Average BAH rose 4.2%, and BAS rose 2.4%. Your zip code may have gone up more, less, or down. Rate protection saves you only until you PCS, change dependents, or drop a grade. Here is how to read the raise against rent and a mortgage.
The Personal Property Activity at Scott Air Force Base took over as the permanent hub for household goods and vehicle shipments in 2026 after years of broken PCS contracts. DPS still books the move. Here is what changed, how to use PPA.mil and the call center, and how to protect claims this peak season.
Orders in hand and you are already browsing listings. Slow down. Tour length, BAH, VA entitlement, and exit strategy decide whether that house is a win or a four-year headache. Here is the filter we use with military families every week.
Fiscal year 2027 begins the Pentagon's first round of discretionary PCS budget cuts. The Army has already named numbers. Longer tours change the buy-versus-rent math. Here is what is real, what is still branch-by-branch, and what to do before orders drop.
Sixty days is tight but workable if you stop doom-scrolling and run a real sequence: HHG, housing, schools, SCRA, and money. Here is the week-by-week playbook military families actually use when the report date is already on the calendar.
The House has passed a defense bill with a bigger, tiered pay raise. The Senate version is stuck, and it offers a smaller flat increase. Child care, BAH, and privatized housing standards are also on the table. Senate leaders now look likely to wait until after the November election. Here is what is actually in the bills, and what is not law yet.
The service member gets the orders brief. You get the career, kids, licenses, and household reality. This is the spouse-side PCS list: 27 concrete actions from the day orders drop through the first week at the new duty station.
Yes, if you live in one unit as your primary residence and the property meets VA rules. House-hacking a small multifamily can stretch BAH and build a rental at the same time. Here is how entitlement, occupancy, and appraisals actually work.
Entitlements cover a lot. They do not cover everything. From pet shipping to food during TLE to the deposit gap on the new lease, here is where military families actually bleed cash on a PCS and how to plan for it.
Families in privatized military housing have reported mold and hazardous conditions while waiting months for answers. The bipartisan MOLD Act would set real health and safety standards, require independent inspections, and give families access to their housing records. A narrower version is in the Senate NDAA. The House passed its bill without it. Here is what the bill does and how to help before conference.
Sell, rent, or try to bring a buyer into your VA loan through assumption. Each path has different cash, entitlement, and timeline risk. Here is how to decide before pack-out turns into a fire sale.
A 62-bill package would expand benefits for combat-injured veterans and surviving spouses while reducing future disability compensation for an estimated 1.5 million others. The House pulled it from the floor on July 16. Here is a plain breakdown of what the bill does, who it helps, who absorbs the cost, and why it is still waiting.
VA loans are assumable. In a high-rate market, that can mean a buyer takes over your low rate instead of starting at today's. Here is the real process, the entitlement catch, and when assumptions help sellers and buyers.
Three housing paths, three different risk profiles. Tour length, BAH, waitlists, and exit strategy decide the winner. Here is a straight comparison military families can run before they sign anything.
Assumable VA loans, funding fee exemptions, caregiver stipends, state property tax breaks, MyCAA, and more. These benefits are earned. Most families never fully use them. Here is what to claim and where to start.
Orders in hand start the clock. This is the practical PCS timeline from day one through delivery day: HHG, SCRA, TLE, pack-out, claims, and the housing decisions that blow up moves when you ignore them.
BAH is tax-free and tied to rank, dependents, and zip code, but it is not 100% of local rent. Here is how the 95% standard, rate protection, and with-dependents rates translate into a real housing budget.
No down payment, no PMI, and you can use the benefit more than once. Funding fees, entitlement, and MPRs are where families get surprised. Here is how to reuse the VA loan across a career without painting yourself into a corner.
Federal law and interstate compacts help military spouses transfer nursing, teaching, counseling, and other licenses after a PCS. Here is how the 30-day rule works, which compacts matter, and what to do when a state board stalls.
If a family member is enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program, your PCS has an extra coordination layer and real protections. Here is how screening, ECHO, and IEP transfers work when orders hit.
Retirement is a different housing decision than a PCS. BAH ends on separation day. VA loan entitlement does not. Here is how to time the purchase, pick a state, and size a mortgage to retired pay.
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