Attributes will "live on" as DoD moving pilot finishes.

While the Full Service Moving Project is slowly being phased out, many of its lessons will live on.

Such attributes as full-replacement value, relocation services, and allocation of work based on customer satisfaction may benefit service members in the future in a rejuvenated Military Traffic Management Command personal property program.

That is the view of Lt. Col. Patricia Hunt, MTMC's Deputy Chief of Staff for Passenger & Personal Property.

"We think we've met the objectives of all the pilot programs," said Hunt. There are an awful lot of lessons--good and bad.

"We have to integrate commercial practices into current programs. That's the big lesson learned."

Nine months after it officially began moving service members' household goods, the program has been stopped. Complaining of high costs, several military services halted their participation in the pilot, run by the Office of the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Transportation Policy).

Counseling of service members in the three pilot testing areas ended Sept. 28. The regions include: National Capital Region and U.S. Naval Academy; Minot, N.D.; and Georgia, with the exception of Robins Air Force Base.

Two days later, the 15 workers in the pilot office were transferred to MTMC Headquarters. Their new mission: Work the remaining year, or more, required to settle all remaining personal property shipments in the pipeline through claims settlement to officially close out the program.

"Features of the program will live on," said Hunt. "That has been its real value."

That future is being looked at right now by the U.S. Transportation Command, assisted by contractor American Management Systems. They are to report to Congress by February on the best commercial practices in all pilots that should be applied to the moving of the nation's service members.

During the eight-month run of the pilot, there were approximately 26,000 service member moves. On an annual basis, MTMC conducts an average of 613,000 moves.

MTMC took over supervisory control of the 15 program employees on Sept. 30. They include three MTMC employees detailed to the program: Bob Harriman, Phyllis Mathews and Craig McKinley. Five others represent the military services. They will rejoin their respective military services in new assignments effective Dec. 31.

Three members of the team are from the Army's Communications-Electronics Command, Washington Acquisition Office: Robin Baldwin, Joann Underwood and Stacy Watson. Other pilot workers included several contractors from PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Among affected program employees is Master Sgt. C.J. "Top" Dabo, a 20-year Marine Corps transportation specialist.

"I'm happy to have come to the project office," said Dabo. "We've made great leaps in our relationship with industry."

The two-year assignment represented a lot of long hours, he said.

"I spent the summer of 2000 on the source selection board," said Dabo.

Several program features that worked extremely well included full-replacement value of lost or damaged goods and the binding estimate, he said. The later attribute requires movers to identify any charges based on excess weight at the time of personal property surveys.

Dabo said he was especially pleased to see the pilot program's successes with a huge increase in demand in the summer peak moving months.

What is next for Dabo?

He will have an easy transition--retiring Jan. 1 with over 20 years of military service.

Baldwin, the pilot's contracting officer, is philosophical about the transition.

"It's all about the customer," said Baldwin.

Looking back, Baldwin said improved communication with the moving industry will be one of the legacies of the Full Service Moving Project.

Baldwin started work on the project in early 1998.

"I will continue to support the project until the final shipment is delivered and the last claim settled," she said.