PCS Meaning in the Military: Every Moving Acronym, Explained

The short answer

This is a dictionary of military moving acronyms and abbreviations: 74 terms, in plain English, that you can search below. The guides on this site use these terms and link here instead of defining them again, so if a PCS page sends you to #malt or #dla, this is where it lands.

The first entry is the one most people arrive looking for. PCS means Permanent Change of Station: the official military move from one permanent duty station to another, or to a first station or to separation. It comes with written orders, and those orders decide what the government ships, who travels, and what you are paid.

Updated September 3, 2026. Definitions follow the Joint Travel Regulations and the Defense Personal Property Program; where a figure changes yearly it lives on the page that cites it, not here. The terms are the same at every installation. Where a base does something its own way, the entry carries a note for it, starting with Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM).

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The nine terms you will hear first

PCS — Permanent Change of Station

The official reassignment of a service member from one permanent duty station to another, from home to a first station, or from a last station to separation or retirement. It comes with written orders, and the orders drive every entitlement on this page: what ships, who travels, what is reimbursed.

At JBLM: At Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) the office that arranges the move is JPPSO Northwest.

ETS — Expiration Term of Service

The date an enlisted soldier’s contract ends, printed on orders and used across the Army for the end of active service. The Marine Corps calls it EAS, the Navy EAOS, and the Air Force uses a date of separation. It matters for moving because the final move home is a separate entitlement with its own clock.

HHG — Household Goods

The furniture, appliances and belongings the government ships at its expense, up to a weight allowance set by pay grade and dependency status. Cars, pets, boats and building materials are not household goods and have their own rules.

DLA — Dislocation Allowance

A one-time payment intended to partially offset the cost of relocating a household: deposits, connection fees, the things a move costs that nothing else reimburses. The amount depends on pay grade and whether dependents move with you, and it is normally paid once per PCS. It can be advanced before the move.

2026 amounts by grade are in the PPM calculator

TLE — Temporary Lodging Expense

Reimbursement for lodging and meals while you are in temporary quarters immediately before leaving or after arriving at a stateside duty station, capped at a number of days set by the Joint Travel Regulations (more at installations designated as housing-shortage locations). Confirm your cap with the finance office before you book.

CIF — Central Issue Facility

The warehouse where soldiers draw and turn in organizational clothing and individual equipment (OCIE): body armor, helmets, sleeping systems, cold-weather gear. Clearing CIF is a mandatory step in out-processing, and a missing item is charged to you.

At JBLM: JBLM’s CIF is one of the busiest in the Army; book the turn-in appointment early in out-processing.

TMO — Transportation Management Office

The generic name for the installation transportation office that counsels you and books the shipment. Depending on the installation and service you will see it called the TMO, the JPPSO, or the PPPO. It is the first office to call after orders arrive.

At JBLM: JBLM’s office is JPPSO Northwest, Building 9501, 9501 Rainier Drive.

POV — Privately Owned Vehicle

Your car. The regulations say ‘privately owned’; you will hear ‘personally owned’ just as often, and both mean the same thing. On a stateside move you drive it and are paid MALT; on an overseas move eligible orders may ship one at government expense.

Does the military ship your car? Rules and costs

PPM — Personally Procured Move (formerly DITY, Do-It-Yourself)

You move some or all of your household goods yourself, with a rental truck, containers or a mover you hire, and the government pays you based on the Government Constructed Cost. Certified weight tickets prove what you moved. A partial PPM combines it with a government shipment.

PPM calculator

The full glossary, by phase of the move

Terms are grouped in the order a move happens. Where one of the nine featured terms belongs to a phase, the group points back up to it rather than defining it twice.

Orders and the timeline

Defined above: PCS.

Orders — PCS orders

The written authorization for the move. Read the paragraphs on dependents, vehicle shipment and the report date closely; an amendment to the orders changes the entitlements, so keep every version.

PDS — Permanent Duty Station

The installation you are assigned to. A PCS moves you between two of them; temporary duty does not change it.

RNLTD — Report No Later Than Date

The date on the orders by which you must sign in at the new unit. Travel days, leave in transit and house hunting all have to fit before it.

DEROS — Date Eligible for Return from Overseas

The end date of an overseas tour. Reassignment back to the United States is planned around it.

TDY / TAD — Temporary Duty / Temporary Additional Duty

A temporary assignment away from your permanent station, called TDY in the Army and Air Force and TAD in the Navy and Marine Corps. It is not a move: household goods do not ship and the mileage rate is different from the PCS rate.

CONUS — Continental United States

The 48 contiguous states. A CONUS-to-CONUS move is the standard stateside PCS: you drive, the government ships your household goods, and it does not ship your car.

OCONUS — Outside the Continental United States

Overseas, plus Alaska and Hawaii. OCONUS orders change what ships, how you travel, and which allowances apply.

Gaining unit / losing unit — Gaining unit and losing unit

The command you are reporting to and the command you are leaving. The gaining unit assigns your sponsor; the losing unit signs you out.

A member of the gaining unit assigned to help you arrive: housing information, in-processing appointments, where to park on day one. Ask for one as soon as you have orders.

In-processing / out-processing — In-processing and out-processing

The checklist of offices you clear when you arrive at or leave an installation: personnel, finance, housing, medical, the transportation office and the Central Issue Facility among them.

Port call — Port call

For an overseas move, the date and time you are booked on government-arranged transportation, usually a Patriot Express flight. Miss it and the move has to be rebooked.

MPD / MPF — Military Personnel Division / Military Personnel Flight

The personnel office (Army MPD, Air Force MPF) that publishes and amends orders. Errors on orders are fixed here, not at the transportation office.

HOR / PLEAD / HOS — Home of Record, Place Entered Active Duty, Home of Selection

The locations used to compute a final move. Separating members are generally entitled to a move to their home of record or the place they entered active duty; retirees may choose a home of selection anywhere in the United States.

Money and entitlements

Defined above: DLA, TLE, PPM.

MALT — Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation

The per-mile payment for driving your own vehicle to the new duty station, computed on the official distance rather than your odometer. It is paid per authorized vehicle, and on a second vehicle when dependents travel with you and both cars are driven.

Current rate, worked examples and the car-shipping question

Per diem — PCS per diem

The daily allowance for lodging and meals on authorized travel days. Dependents 12 and older receive 75 percent of the member’s rate; dependents under 12 receive 50 percent.

Compute it with the PPM calculator

TLA — Temporary Lodging Allowance

The overseas counterpart of TLE, paid while you wait for permanent housing at an OCONUS station.

BAH — Basic Allowance for Housing

The monthly housing allowance for members not living in government quarters, set by duty location, pay grade and dependency status. Your new BAH starts at the new station, so compare the two rates before you sign a lease.

OHA — Overseas Housing Allowance

The overseas version of BAH. It reimburses actual rent up to a cap and adds a utility allowance, instead of paying a flat amount.

COLA — Cost of Living Allowance

A supplement paid at high-cost overseas locations and a small number of stateside ones, to offset prices above the national average.

BAS — Basic Allowance for Subsistence

The monthly food allowance. It is not a moving entitlement, but it appears on the Leave and Earnings Statement next to the ones that are.

GCC — Government Constructed Cost

The government’s estimate of what it would pay a contracted mover to ship your household goods on the same route and weight. It is the basis of the personally procured move payment. The government does not publish it in advance for your move; the counseling office gives you the figure.

Why the PPM calculator refuses to guess it

DITY — Do-It-Yourself move

The older name for a personally procured move. You will still hear it, and ‘DITY move’ is what most people search for. Same entitlement, same rules.

Advance pay — Advance travel pay and advance DLA

Money paid before the move against what you will claim afterward. It has to be settled on the travel voucher; if the final claim comes in lower, the difference is collected.

Travel voucher — DD Form 1351-2, the travel voucher

The claim you file after arriving, listing travel days, mileage, per diem, lodging receipts and the allowances you are owed. Nothing is paid until it is filed and approved.

GTCC — Government Travel Charge Card

The charge card issued for official travel. Whether and how it may be used for PCS expenses differs by service; ask finance before relying on it.

LES — Leave and Earnings Statement

The monthly pay statement. Moving allowances, advances and collections all show up there, so it is how you check that the voucher was paid correctly.

DFAS — Defense Finance and Accounting Service

The agency that processes and pays travel vouchers and military pay.

DTMO — Defense Travel Management Office

The office that publishes the travel rates: per diem, the mileage rates, and the Joint Travel Regulations themselves.

JTR — Joint Travel Regulations

The rulebook for every travel and transportation allowance on this page. When two people disagree about an entitlement, the JTR paragraph is the answer.

DTOD — Defense Table of Official Distances

The official mileage table used to compute MALT and the number of authorized travel days. Your odometer does not count; the table does.

Household goods and shipping

Defined above: HHG, TMO.

Weight allowance — HHG weight allowance

The maximum weight of household goods the government will move for you, from a table in the Joint Travel Regulations by grade and dependency status. Anything above it is charged to you as excess weight.

Allowance by grade in the PPM calculator

PBP&E — Professional Books, Papers and Equipment (pro-gear)

Items needed for your duties that ship on top of the weight allowance rather than against it: up to 2,000 pounds for the member and 500 pounds for a spouse. They must be declared and listed separately.

UB — Unaccompanied Baggage

A small, faster shipment of essentials sent ahead of the main household goods on an overseas move: kitchen basics, bedding, uniforms, a few weeks of clothing.

SIT — Storage in Transit

Temporary storage of household goods at origin or destination when you cannot receive them yet, authorized for an initial period and extendable with approval.

NTS — Non-Temporary Storage

Long-term storage of household goods at government expense, typically for an overseas tour where you cannot or choose not to ship everything.

JPPSO — Joint Personal Property Shipping Office

A regional transportation office that serves several installations and services. It books your household goods shipment and answers entitlement questions.

At JBLM: JPPSO Northwest at JBLM: 520-706-8613 or 253-967-5093, Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

JPPSO Northwest, official page

PPPO — Personal Property Processing Office

The local counseling office under a JPPSO. Entitlement counseling and the paperwork for a shipment usually happen here.

DPS / MilMove — Defense Personal Property System and MilMove

The online systems where you set up a household goods shipment, pick dates and file claims. DPS is the long-running system; MilMove is its replacement, rolled out installation by installation. Your counseling office tells you which one applies to your move.

TSP — Transportation Service Provider

The moving company the government assigns to pack, ship and deliver your household goods. You do not choose it; you can document its work and file claims against it.

GHC — Global Household Goods Contract

The single nationwide moving contract (held by HomeSafe Alliance) that was meant to replace the installation-by-installation system. It was terminated in 2025 and moves reverted to the transportation offices, which is why guidance written under it is now out of date.

Weight tickets — Certified weight tickets

Scale readings for the empty and loaded vehicle on a personally procured move. Without both tickets the PPM payment cannot be computed.

Pack-out — Pack-out day

The day or days the movers pack and load. Keep an inventory, photograph valuables beforehand, and set aside the items that must not go on the truck.

Inconvenience claim — Inconvenience claim

Reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs (lodging, meals, basic furnishings) when the mover misses the agreed pickup or delivery date.

FRV — Full Replacement Value

The claims standard for household goods lost or damaged in a government-arranged move: replacement with a new item or repair, rather than depreciated value, when the claim is filed within the deadlines.

Vehicles

Defined above: POV.

VPC — Vehicle Processing Center

Where you hand over or collect a vehicle the government is shipping overseas. Appointments are booked through PCSmyPOV.

PCSmyPOV — PCSmyPOV

The website of the Department of Defense’s global vehicle-shipping contractor, International Auto Logistics, used to book a Vehicle Processing Center appointment and track the car. It applies to overseas shipments, not to stateside moves.

IAL — International Auto Logistics

The contractor that ships and stores privately owned vehicles for the Department of Defense.

Housing and the installation

Defined above: CIF.

MHO — Military Housing Office

The installation office (Army: Housing Services Office) that manages on-base housing waitlists, referrals to off-base rentals and, at most installations, the handoff to the privatized housing partner.

PPV housing — Public-Private Venture housing

On-base family housing built and operated by a private company under a long-term agreement. Rent is normally set at the BAH rate and paid by allotment.

OCIE — Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment

The unit-issued gear tracked on your clothing record at the Central Issue Facility. It is government property; it moves with you only when the orders say so.

DEERS — Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System

The database of service members and dependents behind ID cards and TRICARE. Update addresses and family changes after a move so benefits and mail follow you.

EFMP — Exceptional Family Member Program

The program for family members with medical or educational needs. Enrollment can affect which assignments are available, and overseas orders require a screening.

ACS / M&FRC — Army Community Service / Military and Family Readiness Center

The family support center on the installation: relocation readiness briefings, the lending closet, financial counseling, employment help for spouses. Navy and Marine Corps installations call it the Fleet and Family Support Center.

Lending closet — Lending closet

Free loan of kitchen basics, cribs and other essentials from the family support center while your household goods are in transit.

CDC — Child Development Center

On-installation child care. Waitlists are long at large installations, so request care through MilitaryChildCare.com as soon as orders are in hand.

MWR — Morale, Welfare and Recreation

The installation’s recreation programs: gyms, outdoor recreation, ticket offices, youth sports.

PX / BX / NEX / MCX — The exchanges

The on-base department stores: Post Exchange (Army), Base Exchange (Air Force), Navy Exchange and Marine Corps Exchange. Run by AAFES for the Army and Air Force; the commissary, the grocery store, is run separately by DeCA.

TRICARE — TRICARE

The military health plan. A PCS usually means transferring enrollment to the new region and picking a new primary care manager.

Separation, retirement and after

Defined above: ETS.

EAS / EAOS / DOS — End of Active Service, End of Active Obligated Service, Date of Separation

The other services’ names for the ETS date: EAS in the Marine Corps, EAOS in the Navy, DOS in the Air Force.

Final move — Separation or retirement move

The last government-paid move, to the home of record or place of entry for separating members and to a home of selection for retirees. It must generally be completed within a set period after separation or retirement, with extensions possible; confirm the deadline with the transportation office before you separate.

TAP — Transition Assistance Program

The mandatory pre-separation program covering benefits, employment and finances. It starts a year or more before the ETS date.

SkillBridge — DoD SkillBridge

A program that lets members spend up to the last 180 days of service training or interning with a civilian employer while still on active pay.

SCRA — Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The federal law that, among other protections, lets a service member end a residential lease early with PCS orders (or a deployment of 90 days or more) by giving written notice and a copy of the orders. Termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent due date.

POA — Power of Attorney

A document letting a spouse or another person sign for you during the move: accept delivery, sign a lease, handle a vehicle. The installation legal office prepares them free of charge.

VA home loan — Department of Veterans Affairs home loan

The mortgage guaranty available to service members, veterans and some spouses: no down payment in most cases, no private mortgage insurance. Relevant the moment a PCS turns into a decision to buy.

Which base are you moving to?

This page is the same wherever you are posted — the entitlement rules, the carriers and the paperwork do not change with the installation. What does change is gates, housing, the local offices and the housing allowance, and that lives in each base guide.

Our base guide today is Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in Washington. More are in the works.

Frequently asked questions

What does PCS stand for in the military?

PCS stands for Permanent Change of Station: the official reassignment of a service member from one permanent duty station to another, or to a first station or to separation. The orders that come with it decide what the government ships, who travels and what is reimbursed.

What does ETS mean in the military?

ETS means Expiration Term of Service, the date an enlisted soldier’s contract ends. The Marine Corps calls it EAS, the Navy EAOS, and the Air Force uses a date of separation. The final move home is a separate entitlement with its own deadline.

What is HHG in a military move?

HHG is Household Goods: the furniture and belongings the government ships at its expense, up to a weight allowance set by pay grade and dependency status. Cars, pets and boats are not household goods.

What is DLA in the military?

DLA is the Dislocation Allowance, a one-time payment that partially offsets the cost of relocating a household. The amount depends on pay grade and whether dependents move with you, and it can be advanced before the move.

What is TLE in the military?

TLE is Temporary Lodging Expense: reimbursement for lodging and meals while you are in temporary quarters just before leaving or after arriving at a stateside duty station, for a capped number of days. TLA is the overseas version.

What is CIF in the Army?

CIF is the Central Issue Facility, where soldiers draw and turn in organizational clothing and individual equipment such as body armor and cold-weather gear. Clearing CIF is a required step in out-processing before a PCS or separation.

What does TMO mean in the military?

TMO is the Transportation Management Office, the installation office that counsels you and books your household goods shipment. At many installations it is called the JPPSO or PPPO instead; at JBLM it is JPPSO Northwest.

What does POV mean in the military?

POV is a Privately Owned Vehicle, meaning your car. On a stateside move you drive it and are paid mileage; on an overseas move eligible orders may ship one vehicle at government expense.

What is a DITY move?

A DITY (do-it-yourself) move is the older name for a Personally Procured Move, or PPM: you move your own household goods and the government pays you based on what it would have cost to ship them. Certified weight tickets are required.

Sources and data notes

Definitions are paraphrased from the regulations and program guidance above; they are not legal or financial advice. Rates, day caps and weight tables change, so this page states the rule and links to the page or office that carries the current figure. Where two services use different names for the same thing, both are given.