12 On Your Side Investigates: U.S. TRANSCOM’s response to 2 Ga. senators

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - An exclusive update from 12 On Your Side Investigates.

After we exposed problems with the new company in charge of moving military families, two U.S. Senators got involved.

They launched an official inquiry, asking the commander of U.S. Transportation Command to look into those problems.

Only 12 On Your Side Investigates has a copy of his response.

The letter is dated April 9th, 10 days after the March 31st deadline Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock gave General Randall Reed.

Meanwhile, military families tell us HomeSafe Alliance is also missing deadlines.

“We were without our stuff for about a month and a half, and we just got our stuff last week. Thank God,” said Nicole, a military spouse.

Moving from Florida to Colorado with two young kids was stressful enough.

She says when HomeSafe Alliance, the company in charge of her move, couldn’t tell her where her stuff was, it made things a lot worse.

12 ON YOUR SIDE INVESTIGATIONS:

• Missed military moving deadline
• U.S. senators launch inquiry into military moving contract
• Movers say they can’t afford to take part in new program
• Military pulls back on relocation program
• Families hit roadblocks with new military moving contract

“I also have a mentally challenged uncle who lives with us, and he’s very attached to all of his stuff,” said Nicole. “So him not knowing where anything was, too, that was causing a lot of stress for me, and everybody’s wondering where their stuff is. My kid is like, ‘Where’s my toys?’ and my uncle is like, ‘Where is all my furniture? ‘”

Nicole asked that we just use her first name to protect her service member husband.

We also sat down with a service member, who asked to be totally anonymous.

He said his HomeSafe move began with a no-show, then poor packing, and the red flags kept popping up from there.

“‘Do you know where my household goods shipment is right now?’ Her response was, ‘No, I don’t,’” he said.

In March, Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock sent the letter below to U.S. TRANSCOM.

Now, we can show the response.

In his letter, General Randall Reed its “recent performance issues” have caused “disruptions” and anxieties.”

He also says “corrective actions” are underway.

NEWS 12 EXCLUSIVE:

General Reed also included answers to the senators’ questions, saying USTRANSCOM “paused expansion” to new sites, basically pulling back on the number of moves HomeSafe handles.

He also confirms HomeSafe has received formal warnings, violation notices and even terminated some move task orders for poor performance.

In an opening statement to the House Armed Services Committee during a March 25 hearing, General Reed acknowledges there have been issues and says there should be no doubt they will see this through for service and their families.

In a statement, a HomeSafe Alliance spokesperson says:

As for military families, some tell us they went into debt to move themselves because of new, lower reimbursement rates. General Reed its Transcom doesn’t know how many families incur out-of-pocket moving expenses, and the average cost of those expenses.

Meanwhile, military spouses like Nicole hope HomeSafe’s issues can be resolved.

“Things need to be changed. Things need to be recognized,” said Nicole.

Other of the military tell us they just want HomeSafe to fulfill its promise or step aside.

Anonymous: “If this were your equipment or if this were your household goods, your entire life in boxes, would you do that? And emphatically, they said no, I wouldn’t. It was like, ok, then why am I, as a service member, being asked to do something that you yourself wouldn’t do?”

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