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DPS online system saves time, money

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Carolyn Viss
  • 15th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Hickam Air Force Base has implemented a new, online self-counseling personal property system which will assist military members with the paperwork and communication necessary to permanently change stations. 

Any military servicemember who has orders may now go to The Defense Personal Property System Web site and log in after creating a password to negotiate pickup and delivery dates, track their household goods, and even contact the transportation service provider directly. 

"DPS eliminates the middle man," said Staff Sgt. Chris Sanchez, 15th Logistics Readiness Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of passengers and personal property. 

All the pre-move briefings are online, saving servicemembers and their family a couple of hours and time waiting for a briefing from the Traffic Management Office, he said.
"It saves the government time and money," Sergeant Sanchez said. "Now all we do is QC [quality check] the shipping documents and approve them - everything else is done directly from the member to the carrier." 

The new system will be implemented in phases Defense Department-wide, he said. Here at Hickam Air Force Base, they began the online method in mid-March; however, as each phase is developed and implemented there are fewer restrictions and more access. 

For instance, currently members who are retiring, separating, having a do-it-yourself move, or who have non-temporary storage cannot use DPS online, Sergeant Sanchez said. Soon, some of those limitations will be lifted, and Hickam AFB members will be able to use it for DITY moves. 

Staff Sgt Joseluis Alvarez, 15th LRS material management craftsman, just finished processing his household goods through DPS in preparation for a move to Hill AFB, Utah. 

"It was pretty good; you can basically do it on your own time on your free time," he said. "Moving is tough, and you have a lot of appointments to go, to but this way you can knock it out on your own time. On the positive side, if you have any questions about it you can go to TMO and make an appointment one on one. It's great to have it all on cyberspace. I enjoyed it, and I saved a lot more time doing it online verses making every single appointment with TMO." 

Post- move, members can also make damage claims online without going to legal and TMO, Sergeant Sanchez said. 

Sergeant Alvarez, his wife, and two children have moved twice with the Air Force before - once to Travis AFB, Calif., and then here to Hickam AFB.

"I didn't have any claims the last two times, so I don't expect to have any this time, but I would imagine it would be a lot easier to do it online than going to legal," he said.
For more information, call TMO at 448-0200 or log onto www.move.mil. No common access card is needed to log on.