Strong Cybersecurity Shouldn’t Price Movers Out of Serving Military Families

From Luke Air Force Base to Fort Huachuca, hundreds of active-duty families move in and out of Arizona every year, and few things matter more to us than helping them settle in and put down roots while they serve our country Just-In Time Moving & Storage has been in business for more than 21 years, and entered the military moving market only a few years ago.

We take great pride in our work helping military members and families with their moves. About 300,000 active duty military families relocate throughout the country and internationally each year as part of their military service. Moving is already one of the most stressful life events, and when moves of this significance relate to national security and military operations, it’s critical to provide reliable, high-quality services during the transition.

We’ve continued working as an agent for larger Transportation Service Providers (TSPs) under the military moving program. As with any government contract, we expected challenges involving terminology, paperwork, procedures and communication. What I did not expect was that cybersecurity requirements would significantly increase the cost of doing business in an industry we love.

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) was created by the DoD for a legitimate reason. While movers in this program only handle information that any other household vendor –  such as a cable company, repairman, or internet service provider – would have access to, there is no question that sensitive government and service-member information must be protected. However, the new CMMC Level 2 requirements for the military moving supply chain create a significant burden that makes it difficult to justify continuing on when looking at our bottom line.

Every moving company and professional must implement 110 security controls by March 2027 to be eligible to participate in the program. For our roughly 60-employee company, the estimates we received for reaching compliance are approximately $80,000 to $100,000 in the first year, along with significant ongoing costs to maintain compliance. To satisfy Level 2 requirements, to change technology platforms, increase IT monitoring, document and maintain extensive cybersecurity controls and train employees.

While military business is important to us, it is only one part of our company. We handle roughly 4,000 moves each year across residential, interstate, commercial, designer and international work. If remaining in the military market requires an investment approaching six figures and continued administrative obligations, the business looks bleak for our team just trying to make an honest living while proudly serving our military heroes. We may be forced to make the hard decision to stop servicing military shipments and direct resources elsewhere for the best interest of our company.

The military moving network depends on small and midsized independent movers. Increased financial barriers for the companies providing the trucks, warehouses, drivers, crews and local expertise to larger businesses could impact participation in the program if those barriers become too insurmountable. That impact to business operations would be felt up the chain for military movers.

The goal is to strengthen cybersecurity protecting government information without creating a barrier so high that capable small businesses are pushed out of the military supply chain.

I urge Congress to consider solutions that balance strict cybersecurity with economic viability for movers who service military families. The U.S. Senate has proposed a grant program for the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act to help DoW contractors offset the cost of CMMC compliance, but as written, military movers are not eligible to apply. Allowing movers to apply for this grant could help businesses like mine continue supporting our military.

Without a practical solution, the result could lead to fewer qualified companies willing and able to move military families. At a time when service members need to focus on their mission, we should be finding ways to maintain reliable moving capacity, not driving it away.

Justin Hart is the CEO of Just-In Time Moving & Storage, headquartered in Mesa, AZ.