DOD cancels $17.9 billion household moving contract

DOD has terminated its long-troubled $17.9 billion Global Household Goods Contract (GHC) with HomeSafe Alliance, the Pentagon announced 18 June 2025, following mounting complaints from service members and families enduring permanent change of station moves, as reported by Defense One.

Launched in 2024 to streamline the DOD’s notoriously complex moving process, the contract aimed to move nearly 400,000 shipments annually under one umbrella provider. Since preaward, the private sector questioned the effects of applying Service Contract Act (SCA) wage requirements to the contract. (Under the SCA, federal contractors are mandated to pay prevailing wages, the average wage for the performance location as determined by the Department of Labor). Local moving companies and labor unions alleged that HomeSafe Alliance’s payment offers were up to 20 percent below government-established SCA wage rates, undermining labor protections and prompting many movers to reject jobs.

Despite years of protests and restructuring, HomeSafe’s implementation managed just a fraction of planned moves by early 2025, and complaints surged—citing delayed shipments, poor vendor communication, and damaged goods. Local reporting suggested HomeSafe’s rates to local movers were 20 percent less than marketr rates.

The Pentagon’s response: a new Joint Task Force, helmed by Maj. Gen. Lance Curtis, to coordinate remaining moves and assist affected families. The task force is ramping up personnel and expects to debut a dedicated call center later this month for PCS-related help.

Advocacy organizations such as MOAA have called for accountability, transparency, and meaningful stakeholder input on future restructuring. Recommendations include preserving the MilMove tracking platform and postponing new contract awards until a GAOreport, mandated by the fiscal 2025 NDAA, is released this fall.