Transportation Officers: The People Behind the Move

NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Italy — Peak PCS Season seems pretty self-explanatory: a lot of people moving in and out of the base. What isn't inferred is the countless hours transportation specialists spend incustomer counseling sessions and the coordination efforts supporting service members, Department of Defense civilians and their families moves.

At Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella, the peak PCS moving surge typically occurs from May through July, when sharp increase in household goods shipments to members moving to and from sites in Sigonella, Italy; Naples, Italy; Rota, Spain; and Souda Bay, Greece; including many of its smaller sites in its area of responsibility.

In 2025, 32 percent of all FLCSI household goods shipments were processed during those three months alone. Overall, FLCSI’s transportation officers processed 7,509 inbound and outbound shipments throughout the year, including 2,224 shipments during peak season. Those shipments supported military families moving through a global transportation network connecting installations worldwide.

Many members and civilian employees time their permanent change of station moves at the end of the school year, and as a result the move demand surge for the peak season window increases considerably.

“A main challenge in peak season is customers competing for the same dates,” said Robert Gibbons, FLCSI personal property program manager. “Short-notice requests and date changes after shipments are awarded also create challenges.”

During the summer surge, transportation teams coordinate shipment routing, customer counseling, customs documentation, quality assurance inspections and communication between transportation service providers, local agents and military families.

“Most customers believe that by submitting the DPS request the process is completed,” said Domenico Messina, Sigonella personal property transportation officer. “Truth is that in order for the move to go smoothly and be successful there is a lot of traffic of phone calls, emails and preparation between our team, customers, booking agent, local agent and TSP.”

Many service members and families are primarily concerned with securing desired pickup dates and ensuring their household goods arrive on time while coordinating flights, housing arrangements and overseas assignments. However, behind each move is an extensive coordination effort that often goes unseen by customers.

“There is a lot of research, review and work behind a customer move, or even under a single shipment,” Polo said. “Needless to say, the volume of work at the PPSO is also increased with the additional workload during the HHG peak season.”

According to Gibbons, successful household goods moves rely heavily on collaboration between transportation offices, customers and transportation service providers to resolve issues and minimize delays.

While much of the work happens behind the scenes, FLCSI personnel say the mission remains focused on reducing stress for military families during major life transitions.

“You have to love people and the service you provide,” Gibbons said. “This is a customer-service-oriented business, and our main purpose is to support the warfighters and their families.”

When peak season ends, Gibbons said success comes down to one thing: “Knowing we did everything we could to make this part of our customers’ departure less stressful.”

If you need assistance or have questions about your personal property entitlements, contact your local personal Property Shipping Office. Business operating hours are from 0800-1600, Monday through Friday. Keep in mind, services may be limited on local National or U.S. Federal holidays.