Ok Got a question about pack out. I have gone through all the military moving sights and  they all say not to pack anything. But their are some things that I just want to pack myself. Its not a lot but I have my reasons for what I do want packed. I called the Personal Property Office and after he hesitated he said we could but to leave the boxes open so they could check them. But then he kind of went through this spill trying to talk me out of it and then wanted to know like what kind of items. Look im willing to sign a letter taking responsibility for those said boxes but I want them packed myself. Plus I also want them in tubs and not boxes so they do not brake. So is it ok and what will happen?

This is what I would do:
pack everything you want in the tubs, then let the movers put the tubs in boxes. Everybody wins!

In all of our moves I have found that if you have stuff packed in tubs they tend to just leave them in the tubs and tape them shut. If you want them put in boxes you may have to ask for that specifically.

Do exactly that - pack it well and put it in a tub. And don't do anything more. Let them pack it in a box. As long as they do that little bit, they have to claim it as "mover packed", and any breakage is on them.

I agree with the above, when the movers came yesterday, we had stuff in boxes and they didn't un and re pack anything, but we didn't have anything sealed either. It was mostly just clothes that I was saving for my youngest to grow into. They refused to pack anything "squeezable" even things that were sealed.

Thanks everyone! I just wanted to make sure. When we moved over here we didn't have much and had only been married a year so I let them do everything. Since moving over here we have collected a lot of Japanese stuff and when hubby goes to different countries he brings back something for the house. So what I did was I packed everything back in its original box and then if it was breakable I put extra bubble wrap in there and then packed a tub as tight as I could and then shook it to make sure nothing moved and now I feel better. I knew the movers wouldn't do all that.

We are DOD civilian--is it the same Navy packing system for us?

By chance do they label things if they are packing them up on their own?

Thanks,
Melissa

The reason they desire to pack everything is really two fold. First, they take responsibility so they want to pack it or ensure that it is packed "safe". Second and probably the most important to the packers is standard box sizes. They use only certain box sizes that they can piece together in those big wood crates and they have kind of an algorithm for fitting everything in there. You use your tub (if they don't pack it in another box) then you mess up that packing system. So hopefully your tub is small enough to fit into one of their boxes.

If you have original boxes of certain items, go ahead & put them in the original boxes. The movers will then put these into larger boxes with additional packing around them. If you are putting them into tubs to keep them safer, I think you're defeating yourself. Corrugated cardboard boxes are among the safest storage containers. They have built-in impact resistance that will keep the contents safe. You might think rigid tubs are safer, but actually the rigidity is what transfers impact to the contents inside. Think of "crumple zones" in a car: The car collapses to keep the passengers safe. Cardboard boxes do this; tubs don't.