Army Community, Army Spouse and Family Resources - Army Times

New relocation tools replace SITES

With the moving season in full swing, the Defense Department has ditched its former SITES system and launched new relocation tools aimed at providing more up-to-date, concise and useful information that’s easier for military personnel and their families to find.

Anyone who has tried to log into the Defense Department’s SITES site since May 1 has found it no longer exists, and is redirected to http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/moving. Unlike SITES, people do not have to be authorized members of the military community to use the new tools.

The new tools “are an attempt to communicate more efficiently and effectively with a force that moves an average of every two to three years and has a high volume of service members either transitioning out after their service obligation or going into retirement,” said Marine Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman. “In this current age of media technologies, it only made sense to complement the main Web site, Military OneSource, with these improved information and support resources.”

Officials aim to provide more accurate, up-to-date information to make the moving process easier for military families.

But the tools are also useful for those who are not moving. For example, there are listings of places of interest in the local community for those looking for something new to do on a weekend. And there’s a tool to look up phone numbers, addresses and directions to offices and establishments ranging from restaurants to the adult education center to the school liaison officer to the fitness center.

About 10 percent of the former SITES data was moved into the new site, sources said, along with a lot of new information and databases. It will be up to local installations to put the other 90 percent of the former SITES data on their installation Web sites.

The editors at MilitaryHomefront will update the site as changes and additions come in from military installations. The process has been made simpler, with fewer topics to update, said a source with knowledge of the project.

This information has been revised and updated, with new information that has been vetted by the experts. For example, the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command approved an overview on moving household goods, and there is a link to the “Families First” customer satisfaction survey that service members must now complete after a household goods move.

Different paths to data

The new tools provide information in different ways. Possibilities include doing quick searches for phone numbers and addresses of specific offices, such as family centers, chapels and fitness centers, as well as drilling down into research about a particular installation, even to include test scores of all local public and private schools.

There’s also “Moving 101” for newbies, with information defining household goods, details about shipping a personal vehicle overseas at government expense, and information about permanent change-of-station allowances and entitlements.

Clicking on “Military Installations” at the upper left corner of the home page opens up a search field for some 55 programs and services on installations worldwide — barber and beauty shops, child care centers, Defense Department schools, commissaries and exchanges and more. Phone numbers, addresses, links and maps with driving directions are all included.

It’s even possible to check current weather conditions at a particular installation.

The “Plan My Move” tool, found in the “Moving” section under “Troops and Families,” provides a customizable planning calendar that pulls information from a person’s particular installation.

The site also has a relocation budget planner; local installation and major unit contact listings; tools to help find the best communities and affordable housing; checklists for travel and packing; and tip sheets for over 60 different moving topics.