Transferring to a new permanent duty station can be stressful. Transferring to a new permanent duty station out of country – OCONUS – can be especially stressful. Add on shipping your vehicle as part of that move...well, it may be time to exercise some deep breathing exercises.
“Moving is difficult, it can be really stressful. We know that, a lot of times we experience it right there with you,” said Capt. Anthony Williams chief of Military Personnel Policy. “A recent change in Coast Guard travel policy allows more flexibility and choices when determining where to ship your vehicle. We hope this helps alleviate some of the stress an OCONUS move can bring.”
Under the old policy, when shipping a personally owned vehicle (POV) using government funds, members had to choose the ports of embarkation, ports of debarkation, to be the closest to the old and new permanent duty station. In December 2020 the Coast Guard announced a temporary change to the Coast Guard Supplemental to the Joint Travel Regulations (CGS-JTR) allowing members more flexibility when choosing a vehicle processing center (VPC) for the government funded shipment of their POV. This change was set to expire 31 December 2021. However, this policy has been extended another year, and approved to become a permanent addition to the CGS-JTR.
“Bottom line, when you use government funds to ship your vehicle, you can choose to use the port or Vehicle Processing Center (VPC) serving the origin point (Port of Embarkation), the port or VPC serving the new PDS (Port of Debarkation), and any port or VPC along the way,” Williams said.