Opinion: California’s Military Families Ordered to Move Posts Deserve Better

As CEO of one of the nation’s largest moving companies responsible for the relocation of service men and women and their families, it is a privilege to support these brave Americans through what can be a stressful and unsettling time in their lives.

With recent changes from the Department of Defense, that process could become even more strenuous for the more than 300,000 service members who need to move posts each year — including the many thousands of active and reserve military and their families located in California.

In an effort to streamline the process of military moving, the DOD contracted to place all military moves under one single program — the Global Household Goods Contract — instead of continuing its tender-based program. Industry leaders have grave concerns about the feasibility and quality of its execution and are opting not to participate in the GHC program, leaving our service members at the mercy of capacity constraints, inexperienced movers, or worse — fly-by night operations.

Without important changes, I fear our service members will be put at greater risk of having their moves botched or having their items delayed, broken or lost.

The government also has concerns. The House of Representatives passed the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act which called for independent analysis on the feasibility of the program through a variety of metrics.

We call on Congressional leaders to give this high-stakes experiment the careful scrutiny it demands — and insist on a strategic pause of GHC implementation so a comprehensive evaluation of its feasibility can be conducted by the Government Accountability Office.

This is not the time to ignore the universal concerns of an entire industry, a trusted partner and California business that has the potential to impact thousands of local military families. Our men and women in uniform deserve a positive moving experience by professionals, like Atlas, who care.

Jack Griffin is chairman and CEO of Atlas World Group, a national moving and storage company.