How Timely Orders Can Make or Break a Military Experience

(Expanded Article)

In July 2023, the Air Force let airmen and families know it was running low on funds. The shortfall meant a halt to some bonuses and the sudden pause of some anticipated orders for troops, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves, that would uproot families.

Though the Air Force's hold publicized a potential disruption to military families, those families have always known that having orders in hand doesn't mean a thing until the moving trucks arrive.

Delays to military orders are an anticipated part of military life. Orders can be stalled or changed for any number of reasons -- COVID, a failed overseas medical screening, or a congressional hold like the one currently at play at the hands of Sen.Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. Military families are expected to roll with the delays…

Go Beyond the Article

There is only so much that can be included in any given article, but there is so much more to learn about this topic. Subscribe to hear from military spouses with different experiences, advice for families to cope with changes to orders from Dr. Mollie Marti, social psychologist and get additional insights provided by housing advocate MJ Boice:

“[COVID] exposed the holes that had already existed in the system,” said MJ Boice, former Director of Community Outreach for PCSGrades, an organization that provides housing resources for PCSing families. “It forced reforms and in those certain areas [increasing reimbursements and bumps to housing allowances]…those things prompted solutions, but they were reactive, not proactive.”