The 15 Basic PCS Terms you NEED to Know
Facing your first upcoming move on military orders? Your first PCS can be a bit daunting, but we’re here to give you the down-low on all the basic terms you need to know – from PCS to UAB to PPM.
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What do these terms mean?
PCS: Permanent Change of Station
PCS (permanent change of station) refers to a permanent move on military orders. A PCS is distinguished from a TCS or temporary change of station, deployment, field exercise/underway, etc.
POA: Power of Attorney
Power of Attorney or POA allows the spouse or other designated person to make decisions or sign on behalf of the service-member. If the service-member will be unavailable or not present for any reason throughout any point of the PCS process, acquiring power of attorney to do things such as sign a lease, purchase a vehicle, etc may be needed.
SPOA (Special Power of Attorney)
A special power of attorney (SPOA) is a specialized form of a POA that allows the designated contact or agent of the service-member to sign or make legal decisions in a limited, specific capacity (such as sign for a home loan or buy a car).
Contact your local JAG office for more information or to decide if a POA or SPOA is needed for you and your situation.
JAG: Judge Advocate General
JAG or Judge Advocate General is essentially military attorneys. Their local office can help you with drafting legal documents needed (like POA).
HHG: Household Goods
HHG or household goods are your personal belongings you will be shipping to your next duty station.
UAB: Unaccompanied Baggage (Express Shipment)
UAB (unaccompanied baggage) is often referred to as express shipment. AUB is shipping smaller baggage items such as clothing, linens and kitchen items to be shipped before or after your household goods – can take 40-60 days to arrive depending on location and season
TLA: Temporary Lodging Allowance
Your temporary lodging allowance is a reimbursement for temporary housing when you move to a new duty station. However, it is important to note that not everyone qualifies for TLA depending on the circumstance and the requirements for TLA vary by duty station.
Check out our post on TLA here.
POV: Privately Owned Vehicle
POV stands for privately owned vehicle, or your personal car. Typically, the military will pay to ship one vehicle per family for a PCS.
For more information on shipping your POV, go to: https://pcsmypov.com/ and check out our post on shipping your vehicle here.
VPC: Vehicle Processing Center
The vehicle processing center is where you drop off and pick up your vehicle to ship. For more information on the VPC nearest you, go to: https://pcsmypov.com/.
LES: Leave and Earning Statement
The Leave and Earning Statement (LES) is the equivalent of a military pay stub. Knowing where the service-member can access their LES will be important throughout your PCS process for things like buying a house or qualifying for a lease.
Access your LES here: http://mypay.dfas.mil.
BAH: Basic Allowance for Housing
Knowing your new BAH or Basic Allowance for Housing for your new duty station is extremely important for planning purposes (searching for houses, deciding on a childcare plan, etc). Your BAH varies by duty station to accommodate varying costs of housing. You can check the BAH for your next duty station using the DOD BAH calculator.
Learn more about the power of your BAH here.
OHA: Overseas Housing Allowance
The Overseas Housing Allowance is similar to your BAH but OHA is for some U.S. territories and international duty stations. Unlike BAH, you are not able to keep the difference if your housing expenses are lower than the allotted allowance.
For more information on OHA, visit the DOD website.
CONUS vs. OCONUS Military Move
Knowing whether your PCS is CONUS or OCONUS is important in figuring out which protocols to follow for things like shipping your vehicle.
CONUS Move
A CONUS move is a move within the continental U.S.
OCONUS Move
An OCONUS PCS is a move outside of the continental US (Alaska, Hawaii, U.S.-owned territory or international duty stations).
COLA: Cost of Living Allowance
Cost of Living Allowance is a non-taxable allowance for CONUS duty stations with higher costs living or for some overseas duty stations such as Hawaii and Alaska.
Learn more about CONUS COLA here or Overseas COLA here.
PPM: Personally Procured Move
A personally procured move is essentially a do-it-yourself (DIY) move. You may be eligible to be reimbursed for up to 95-100% of the GCC (see below).
For more information on requirements, go the the DFAS website here.
GCC: Government Constructive Cost
Want more information on what you need to know for your upcoming PCS? Let us know in the comments below!
Meet Julie
Co-Founder & Content Creator
Julie and her husband PCSed to Oahu from San Diego in 2021. Since then, Julie has made it her passion to help service members and their families transition to and from Hawaii smoothly.
Fun fact: Julie is also an licensed real estate in Hawaii and helps renters, buyers and sellers accomplish their housing goals!
Julie Principe is a licensed real estate agent in the state of Hawaii (RS-84789). Julie and The PCS Planners are brokered by Keller Williams Honolulu (RB-21303).
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