Planning Your Move

Planning Your Move
You have your orders in hand, now what? If you are returning to the islands, welcome back. If this is your first time here, E Komo Mai (welcome!). We have tried to anticipate your questions and concerns about your move here. We have compiled this comprehensive U.S. Coast Guard-Hawaiian Islands Relocation Handbook to reduce your uncertainty about what to expect. In addition to the other materials in your Welcome Aboard package, your unit specific information, and your unit sponsor Housing, Work-Life, Transportation and other staffs are available to help guide your move to Hawaii.

Welcome Aboard Message
You should receive a detailed Welcome Aboard message from your new unit, which will include the name of your sponsor. Call the unit if you don't receive one within ten days of your orders issue date. If your ship is deployed, call PSSU Honolulu at (808) 842-2053. Read and follow all requirements of your orders and the Welcome Aboard message. Call the unit if you have any concerns.

Overseas Interview
An overseas interview and screening checklist is contained in Exhibit 4-H-2 of the PERSMAN to assist in the overseas screening process of you and your dependents. If you believe an overseas assignment could cause a hardship for you or your family, your duty is to raise the issue. Getting the issue resolved or, sometimes, getting your orders changed will save you and your family a lot of stress. If you have doubts about a health, educational, or financial situation, discuss it with your own command, your sponsor and/or your prospective command.

Entry Approval/Command Sponsorship
All members must obtain official entry approval from the receiving unit's Servicing Personnel Office (SPO). Entry approval is necessary for the transportation of your dependents, household goods (HHG) and privately owned vehicle (POV). Your unit must send a "Request For Entry Approval" message to your new unit's SPO after you have completed all Welcome Aboard message requirements.

TOPS HHG Processing
Most Coast Guard units are now processing HHG shipments under the DoD sponsored Defense Personal Property Standard System (DPS). Contact your transportation officer to confirm the exact procedures to get your HHG packing and shipping arranged. PSSU Honolulu uses the DPS Program and functions as a satellite operation of the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office (JPPSO) at Pearl Harbor. Remember that you need your entry approval message to process your HHG and POV shipments.

Unaccompanied Baggage
Erroneously called "Express Shipment," unaccompanied baggage transportation is authorized by an expedited mode when necessary to enable the member to carry out assigned duties or to prevent undue hardship to the member and/or dependents. When an "unaccompanied baggage" shipment is requested and authorized for PCS, unaccompanied baggage will be transported (no furniture items) not to exceed 500 lbs. To receive items normally shipped in your unaccompanied baggage to Hawaii on time, you can:

Ship the unaccompanied baggage at least 60 days in advance of your arrival, so it will be here when you arrive. Note: unaccompanied baggage does not have an RDD (Required Delivery Date) like a normal HHG shipment, so shippers are not required to get your unaccompanied baggage delivered by a certain date; or,

Request a "Partial Delivery at Destination" from your local transportation officer. This request must be annotated in block 13 of your HHG shipment's Government Bill of Lading (GBL) prior to shipment. Your transportation officer should inform you to keep these items separate from your HHG shipment and to write the corresponding "Item Number" of each line entry on the HHGDescriptiveInventoryform for early partial delivery at your Hawaii destination.

All items selected for "Partial Delivery at Destination" should be packed in one crate, at the top of the crate, which you should record so you can confirm the correct crate delivery of your "Partial Delivery at Destination" items. Moving your HHG for the first time can sometimes be frustrating. To prepare:

Get a copy of It's Your Move.
Make a personal appointment with the transportation officer (if at all possible) to counsel you on your overseas transportation entitlements. If personal counseling is not possible, call and get "overseas transportation entitlements counseling" over the telephone. Many transportation officers use formDD-1797, the Personal Property Counseling Checklist, for counseling.
Be sure to read The Claimant's Guide to HHG Claims, which includes critical information on how to get ready for the movers, receive your HHG, process damage claims and requirements for movers to inventory and pack. The complete guide is included in Appendix B of this handbook.
Ask your local transportation officer questions if you are not sure of something.
Don't Ship Too Much! Most apartments and houses in Hawaii are smaller than on the mainland. Although you are authorized to ship up to your maximum HHG weight allowance, in most instances you will not have room for it all.
You should take a serious inventory of your HHG. Moving is a great opportunity to decide whether you want to keep an item, give it to friends or family, sell it or donate it to charity.
You are entitled to put part or all of your HHG in non-temporary storage at origin (your current duty station) at government expense. If you are uncertain about putting your HHG in non-temporary storage, remember that you can always retrieve part or all of your stored HHG once you get here, by requesting the transportation office to send it to Hawaii.

Note: The retrieval of non-temporary HHG items must be initiated within 90 days of the start of the storage period, otherwise, you will be charged storage/removal expenses to remove any items (JFTR regulations). Permanent storage in Hawaii with non-temporary storage is expensive and in most cases will not be authorized at government expense. Personal self-storage facilities are more expensive in Hawaii than on the mainland ($150/month for a small unit is typical).

Special Power of Attorney
If you might be deployed during your last 60 days at your departing unit or the first 60 days at your new unit, you should get a special power of attorney for your spouse (or designated representative). Call your command's servicing legal office or talk to your unit XO for more information. Your power of attorney should mention all those items your spouse might need to do if you get deployed soon after your arrival, such as:
Ship and receive HHG
Ship and receive a vehicle
Enter Coast Guard-owned or leased housing
Collect TLA payments
Set up a bank account
Other special requirements
Temporary Lodging Allowance (TLA)
The purpose of TLA is to partially reimburse an individual for above normal expenses incurred.

During the occupancy of temporary lodgings while awaiting assignment to government quarters or while looking for on-the-economy rental housing.

For cost of meals taken during use of temporary lodgings outside the continental U.S.

You must keep all lodging receipts to get reimbursed for lodging. The meals and incidentals portion will be paid without any receipts. TLA is authorized for the following members when quarters are not available upon arrival:

Members with command-sponsored dependents.
Unaccompanied members and geographic bachelors if UPH berthing is unavailable.

Verify your TLA eligibility with your new unit and/or the PSSU Honolulu Transportation Officer. Members arriving without their dependents are considered unaccompanied for TLA purposes, even though their tour is designated accompanied. Only 65 percent TLA is authorized for unaccompanied members—whether single or married.