The Air Force has delayed permanent change of station, or PCS, moves for some airmen who were scheduled to relocate within the continental United States, according to an Air Force memo that has been shared on social media.
The Air Force confirmed that the memo is authentic.
Under the changes, airmen expecting to make a routine PCS move between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 within the continental United States but who had not yet received “authenticated orders” for their move now face a delay until at least Jan. 31, the memo says.
Airmen in and moving to jobs with controlled tours like being an instructor, which the Air Force refers to as an “AAC 50” assignment, now face a slightly different hold. Those moves scheduled for November or December are being bumped to the end of January and February, according to the memo.
“AAC 50 designates a controlled tour, such as instructor positions, that are scheduled for a predetermined duration and typically conclude with an assignment to a different duty location,” an Air Force spokesperson told Task & Purpose.
All the changes are effective as of Aug. 13, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that several groups will be exempt, including:
- Airmen making PCS moves to or from locations overseas.
- Airmen with authenticated orders already in hand, regardless of their projected departure date.
- Airmen with a projected departure date on or before Sept. 30.
- Airmen with an assignment that meets special criteria, such as those assigned to deployable combat wings, formal training, and humanitarian moves.
The delayed PCS plan will not apply to Space Force personnel or within the Air National Guard or Reserves.
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Those airmen whose PCS moves have been affected can submit a request with their leadership for an exception to policy and contact their Military Personnel Flight with questions, the spokesperson said.
The PCS move changes come as the Air Force is “proactively managing” its budget for fiscal year 2025.
“As part of this effort, we are carefully reviewing the timing of personnel actions to continue operating within our allocated budget,” the spokesperson said.
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi was more blunt about the issue when he announced on Thursday that he had learned that PCS moves were affected due to “a problem with the PCS budget.”
“Unfortunately, many of our airmen just got notified of an extension of their PCS cycle – some in close proximity to their PCS date,” Flosi said in a video posted on his official Facebook page. “Terribly unsettling news. We’re going to dig into it to see what’s going on.”
It is unclear why Air Force leadership did not anticipate the budget issue and why Flosi did not hear about it until recently.
This is not the first time the Air Force has faced such a problem. In 2023, the service paused PCS moves and bonuses for 11 days after running low on money.
Flosi urged airmen who are going through a hard time because their PCS moves have been delayed or have been unable to get the information they need to contact him on Facebook.
“Shoot us a direct message,” Flosi said. “I’ll get you in contact with the resources we have, and we’ll make sure you get taken care of.”
