Move manager eases hardships of relocation - Full Service Moving Project's Interstate Relocation programme - Brief Article

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, May-June, 2001

"We try to find a way to help," said Terry Abrams, Interstate Team Leader at the Fort Meade, Md., Interstate Relocation office.

"Before the Full Service Moving Project, the answer to many move-related questions was `We don't do that.' Our goal is to be more customer-oriented and friendly, and to find a mechanism to do what the customer needs us to do."

As a former active-duty Transportation Corps officer, Abrams knows the difference.

"Sometimes the customer just needs us to listen and facilitate the process. We really try to help the junior enlisted who are moving for the first time."

As part of the Full Service Moving Project, Interstate is operating several moving relocation centers including Quantico Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va.; U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.; and Sugar Grove Naval Security Group Activity, Sugar Grove, W. Va.

Interstate offers some unique benefits, said Eugene Isaacs, Vice President.

"We have counselors available at our Springfield headquarters office beyond normal duty hours--weekday evenings and Saturday mornings--to meet the needs of those in the D.C. area," said Isaacs.

"Service members can receive counseling at any location in the National Capital Region, not just where they're based."

"We also provide cost-of-living comparisons between the old and new duty stations. These reports also include information about schools, neighborhoods, and demographics."

"The program encompasses everything you need to do for your move," explained Donald Mahan, Personal Move Consultant, Interstate Relocation. "It all starts with your household goods shipment."

"It's been very pleasant and smooth going so far," said Angie Houle.

Houle was planning a move with her husband, Navy Capt. Normand Houle, and daughter, Michelle, from Fort Meade to Portsmouth, N.H., with Interstate's assistance.

"Compared to the usual warehouse or old gym where we used to receive counseling, the Interstate office has been a pleasant change."

"We're just getting started," said her husband, "but we've had an excellent experience with Interstate before."

"The move managers had to meet a lot of challenges to get the project started," said Isaacs. "The first one was staffing the offices--we added 60 people in 45 days. The cooperation among the seven move managers has also been a pleasant surprise; one example is our development of common Full Service Moving Project forms."

"We've never dealt with a more `together' group of government contract managers," said Isaacs. "The project management office staff had a common vision in getting this project off the ground."