Whether you’re PCSing across the country or just down the road, you still need to find a place to live. But base housing is often not the right fit or even readily available, and finding a home off base can be really expensive, especially in a tight housing market. Military members and veterans have access to a special home loan benefit through the Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA home loan. Yet using it can feel too complicated, while how it works is often surrounded in rumor and misinformation. So what’s the real deal? Today’s guest, real-estate expert and military veteran JP Pena, gives his best advice for buying a home using a VA home loan. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Get free VA home loan rate quotes Visit the JP Pena Real Estate Team Facebook page Follow the JP Pena Real Estate Team on Instagram

After two decades, a variety of military spouse-focused nonprofits and government programs are still working to find solutions to a long-term problem: military spouse unemployment. With the spouse unemployment rate sitting at about 24%, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes Foundation, the turn to remote work during COVID and consistent employer education campaigns from military organizations are starting to help. But military spouses continue to face issues around finding and growing careers that meet their skill sets and geographic locations. Those are the kind of challenges Brian Alvarado, who leads the Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Program, is trying to solve. In today’s episode, Brian talks through those challenges and ways military spouses can navigate employment issues during and around a military PCS. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Learn about the Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Program Learn about the Amplify program

Military members spend an average of $5,000 out of pocket without being reimbursed for each Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move, according to data from the Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN). And that’s just one of the reasons having a financial plan going into your PCS is a good idea. But even if you didn’t plan ahead for your military move, you can still have a financially confident PCS, says Kia McCallister-Young, an Air Force veteran and former military spouse who now leads the nonprofit America Saves program. In this episode, Kia explains ways military members can start planning today for a PCS, even if they’re already in the middle of one. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Visit MilitarySaves.org Follow Military Saves on Facebook Follow Military Saves on Twitter

You attended the transportation briefings, read the military’s moving instructions website, talked to friends, gleaned advice from Facebook groups, prepared for the movers and said goodbye to your favorite coffee shop. But did you ever stop to think about how understanding your personal psychology can help you create a successful military Permanent Change of Station (PCS)? The Enneagram system helps individuals not just understand how they tend to approach and think about the world, but also how to not just move through challenges, but come out better on the other side. In this episode of PCS with Military.com, Kellie Artis, a certified Enneagram expert, explains how to not just understand your own type, but use it to make your PCS move awesome. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Visit GoMillie.com View Miliary.com’s base guides Find Millie on Facebook

Military Permanent Change of Station (PCS) stress can feel like one thing after another piling on until you’re just so exhausted, you crack. One way to lower stress ahead of time is to get organized around your move. That can include leaning into organizational tools or even an Excel spreadsheet. For CC Gallagher, an Army spouse and military spouse resource expert, that means leveraging a label system for your pack-out. When she couldn’t find one that fit her needs, she created it herself and now sells it through her website. In this episode of PCS with Military.com, CC talks about her favorite PCS organizational tools and her Stressless PCS Kit. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing See more about the Stressless PCS Kit

Rules and regulations around military moves are set by two sources: laws passed by Congress, and policies created and directed by the Pentagon. How those are implemented is up to U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) and the military and civilian officials there who oversee the military move system. In this episode of PCS with Military.com, Brig. Gen. Joel Safranek, who oversees the personal property system, and Kristen Johnson Barnat, a TRANSCOM spokesperson, give us the inside view on rule and regulation changes that impact the 2022 PCS season. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Learn about military moves on Military OneSource Log into the Defense Personal Property System (DPS)

It’s easy to feel nervous about the entire military Permanent Change of Station (PCS) process when every step seems packed with risk that your belongings will be lost, broken or stolen. But have you ever stopped to hear from the people who have an insider view on the moving industry? In this episode of PCS with Military.com, moving industry representative Katie McMichael offers a window into how the industry operates, the best way for military families to work with the people hired to pack and move their belongings and what military members and families need to know about this peak PCS season. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Learn about the Moving and Storage Conference Learn about the Moving and Storage Conference on LinkedIn

When it comes to paying for Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves, pets are left out in the cold. That’s because while the military pays to move your household goods and your human family, they don’t provide any funding or help moving animals. If you want to relocate a dog, cat or anything else, it’s up to you to pay for it and figure out a way to make it happen. That gets complicated and expensive for any overseas move. Not only do you need to get your pet on a plane, but you have to understand and abide by local destination laws. Military families and service members often spend thousands of dollars working to get a pet to and from a new duty station – a price that only goes up if the wrong flight is booked or rules are misunderstood. That’s where pet shippers like Kari Mendoza and Island Pet Movers come. Shipping pets worldwide for military families has become Kari’s expertise, post-Navy service. In this episode of PCS with Military.com, Kari gives the best tips and tricks for moving pets based on her years in the industry. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Learn more about Island Pet Movers Find Island Pet Movers on Facebook

They come in, wrap your stuff, stick it in boxes and help get it in the truck while you helplessly watch, hoping that your household goods make it to the other end in one piece – or make it to the other end at all. Working with the individuals or “agents” packing your home can be one of the most stressful parts of any military Permanent Change of Station (PCS). Fortunately, Isabel Garcia Schmitt and Wendy Way want to help. Army veterans and military spouses, Isabel and Wendy started LOGSA Mil Moves to provide military packers who understand the challenges because they’ve lived the military PCS life. In this episode, Wendy and Isabel talk about working with your military movers to create the best PCS experience possible. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Read about LOGSA Mil Moves Visit LOGSA Mil Moves on Facebook Read a Military.com article about what military movers can and cannot pack.

It’s been a rocky few years for military PCS moves as COVID restrictions and labor and truck-driver shortages continue to bring their unique challenges. So how can military members and their families best prepare for the 2022 moving season, and what should they learn from seasons past? In this episode, Megan Harless, an Army veteran and spouse, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) advocate and expert in military moves, shares her best advice and insider tips for getting through whatever move Uncle Sam has in store for you this year. Connect with this episode: Get military PCS advice in your inbox Learn more about military PCSing Visit PCSLikeaPro.org Find PCS Like a Pro on Facebook Join the PCS like a Pro Facebook group Find moving information Military OneSource Read the Defense Department’s Joint Travel Regulation Read the Defense Department’s Defense Transportation Regulation