I-TEAM UPDATE: Military pulls back on relocation program
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Your I-TEAM has an update on the military moving mess.
Two branches of the military are now stepping in.
Your I-TEAM first told you two weeks ago about problems with the new system for moving service and their families.
The Army and Air Force are now telling transportation offices to rebook any moves under HomeSafe that do not have 21 days lead time as well as moves where HomeSafe hasn’t assigned movers in 21 days.
When Captain Rosa Harvey got her orders, this time, it was a little different.
She’s 6 months pregnant, meaning heavy lifting would be off-limits.
“I was like- perfect. I’ll have the Army move me,” Captain Harvey told the I-Team.
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The first-time mom-to-be wasn’t too worried.
As an Army Captain, she says she’s authorized 14,500 pounds for her and her husband’s household goods, but their total was only around 7,000 pounds, less than half of that.
Plus, this wasn’t cross-country, and they were going from Savannah, Georgia to Boston during the slowest time of the year for military moves.
“I got 2 confirmation emails from HomeSafe Alliance – stating very black and white – like, update: you have been confirmed. Approved. There’s packers and movers assigned.”
HomeSafe Alliance is the private company that’s supposed to be taking over all military moves.
It’s a contract worth around $20 billion of your taxpayer dollars, but the I-Team has been hearing from families all over the country who say movers were a no-show on moving day.
That’s exactly what Capt. Harvey says happened to her.
“No answer as to why no one showed up, why confirmation emails were sent, when we could expect movers and packers.”
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Eventually, she says HomeSafe did send packers and movers, but they came a week after Captain Harvey and her family were already supposed to be out of their house.
Things weren’t off to the best start, but she says things really took a turn on their delivery date when no one showed up.
When Capt. Harvey spoke to the I-Team via Zoom, she said everything she and her husband own had been missing for more than a week.
“Where are my household goods? My entire household belongings, which again I’m six months. My baby stuff is in this household goods: a car seat, stroller, anything I would need to leave the hospital.”
All HomeSafe could tell her was it’s “in transit.”
When Capt. Harvey took matters into her own hands, she says that wasn’t the case at all.
She tracked down the movers herself, and they told her all of her stuff was still in their warehouse.
It hadn’t even left Georgia.
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“And we’re like, ‘Has HomeSafe Alliance reached out to you at all?’ They’re like, ‘No. HomeSafe Alliance has not called us. And funny you say that. We’ve been trying to get ahold of them, and we can’t get anywhere with them.’”
While the I-Team has talked to a number of families with problems, Sen. Mark Warner says “more than a thousand military families” have experienced problems with HomeSafe, and he wants answers from HomeSafe about why this keeps happening.
Plus, both the Army and Air Force issued advisories rebooking HomeSafe moves that didn’t have 21 days lead time or ones where movers haven’t been assigned in 21 days.
As for Capt. Harvey, she just hopes her belongings arrive before her baby does.
HomeSafe tells us that Harvey has since received her belongings.
“We’re on the phone every day with HomeSafe Alliance and don’t get anywhere. So, hopefully, the only thing that can get some kind of traction or movement on this is like these stories like making it out to the appropriate personnel.”
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HomeSafe Alliance turned down my second request for an interview, but a spokesperson sent the following statement:
As a follow-up question, we asked specifically when HomeSafe approached the DOD to ask for that 21-day lead time.
This is what HomeSafe said:
“We began discussions on the topic in mid-February and reached an agreement on Friday, 2/28/25
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