The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged the Navy and Marine Corps to improve tracking of hardship and safety moves, saying incomplete records leave gaps in oversight of personnel relocations.
Humanitarian reassignments can move service members in response to serious personal circumstances, such as a family emergency. Safety transfers address situations in which a member or dependent faces danger of physical injury or death and military and civilian authorities cannot protect them at their current post.
Available service data contained more than 15,000 humanitarian reassignment requests from fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2025, with 90% approved. Army and Marine Corps approval rates were at least 95% in each year. Navy rates ranged from 74% to 84%, while Air Force rates were 66% to 83%, including Space Force members. The Navy figures cover enlisted personnel because the service does not centrally track officers’ requests.
Safety-transfer records were less complete. GAO identified at least 393 requests over the four years and an 87% approval rate, based on available data, documents and interviews. The Marine Corps and Air Force lacked full-period records. Air Force figures for 2022-24 used calendar years; its 2025 figure used the fiscal year.
The Army approved all safety-transfer requests in the data GAO analyzed. It could not provide totals because its data aggregation tool was not working. Army officials told GAO in June 2026 that a contract had been awarded and design work had begun on a replacement system. Navy records included 10 denials, along with cases in which a dependent moved without the service member or a request was withdrawn or rescinded.
GAO recommended that the Navy centrally track officer humanitarian reassignment requests and outcomes, and that the Marine Corps define safety-related moves and record requests centrally. The Department of Defense (DOD) agreed, and GAO lists both recommendations as open. DOD said the Marine Corps tracks safety-related moves within the continental United States; GAO said Marine Corps records do not separate those moves from other permanent-change-of-station relocations.
DOD estimates that 260,000 to 280,000 service members and their families relocate each year for new duty stations. Active-duty personnel typically move every two to four years. GAO said fuller records could help the services understand where requests arise, how long decisions take and which problems recur.
