Stranded troops and families part of congressional ignorance

Troops Stranded by PCS, TDY Freezes
Military.com
by Matthew Cox
Oct 10, 2013

U.S. troops and their families are feeling the second-week effects of the government shutdown which has crippled the machine responsible for moving entire households, often times around the globe, to new duty stations.

Permanent change of station, or PCS, is the latest victim of the partial shutdown of the federal government. Even under normal conditions, the process of moving a servicemember’s entire family and a house full of personal possessions can be challenging.

This week, many military spouses say they are a nightmare, now that the Pentagon has frozen PCS moves until the government reopens.

Jennifer Paquette’s Air Force husband was scheduled to return from a year in Korea next month. Now his return, and their PCS, is on hold.

“I have been in shock since my husband got notice from his AF command last week,” Paquette wrote in the comment’s section of an Oct. 8 SpouseBuzz post on the issue. “He's in Korea, I'm in Connecticut. He's been gone since last November. His ‘reservation’ for return is/was November 14. Our PCS to Alabama is on hold ‘until further notice.’ Just praying that this gets cleared up in time for no delays with his out processing.

A few weeks could mean a sad Thanksgiving for our family.”
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