AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a permanent Pentagon oversight unit Friday.
He says the goal is to address years of mismanagement in the military’s household-goods moving system that has left service members’ belongings damaged, delayed and mishandled with little compensation.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a permanent Pentagon oversight unit Friday.
In a video announcement, Hegseth detailed the failures that prompted the restructuring, describing damaged furniture, destroyed household items and improper packing that left military families with little recourse. He cited the story of one soldier whose family’s boxes arrived upside down, with everything inside spilled out and crushed.
“I grew up in the military and our things always arrived damaged or packed wrong,” one family member said in the video. “We hardly got any money for it.”
The new structure, effective immediately, elevates the Personal Property Activity to a Department of Defense “special activity” — a standing organization designed to oversee and standardize military moves for more than 300,000 service members annually.
The unit will be headquartered at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois and be fully operational by May 1, according to Hegseth’s announcement.
Maj. Gen. Lance G. Curtis, who temporarily took over the Defense Personal Property Management Office in May after leadership changes, will lead the new organization and report directly to Hegseth at the Pentagon.
“They’re the ones who are sacrificing the most and they’re the ones that deserve the best,” Hegseth said, referring to military families. “Our warriors deserve the best. And that’s what this reform will deliver.”
For months now, a 12 On Your Side investigation has exposed a pattern of problems with a new program to move our service members and their families.
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In May, Hegseth issued directives to increase reimbursement rates for families who moved their own household goods to 130% and created a task force to assess the problems.
“We listened to the concerns of our warriors. And so I fired the head of the failing program,” Hegseth said in the video.
HomeSafe Alliance was terminated in June “for cause due to HSA’s demonstrated inability to fulfill their obligations and deliver high-quality moves to Service members,” according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
Hegseth outlined the new unit’s mission: to guarantee high-quality, reliable and efficient household goods and vehicle shipment services with a firm expectation of on-time delivery and professional storage.
“If there are failures, our job is to correct it and make it right. Not deny that it happened,” Hegseth said, signaling a shift toward accountability and transparency in addressing problems rather than dismissing them.
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