As soon as you have a likely date for your military move, tell your treatment team and work backward from your last appointment.
Find out who can see you near your new duty station, which referrals you’ll need to confirm, and whom to call if the new appointment falls through. Write down who will handle each part of the handoff. It’s easier to sort that out now than from a hotel room with a car full of boxes.
A permanent change of station, or PCS, can interrupt the routines that help you stay in recovery. Your clinician may be in another state, and the people you usually see at meetings may be hours away.
A plan for the move is easier to follow when it covers both the clinical appointments and the ordinary parts of the week that help you stay connected.
Before a Military Move, Make a Handoff Plan With Your Current Team.
Start with the person coordinating your addiction treatment. You could say, “We expect to leave on the 18th. My next appointment would be the week after we get there. Who can help me set that up?”
Share your expected travel dates, any time in temporary housing, and when you’ll know your new address. If your orders could change, ask which parts of the plan can be arranged now.
Ask what should travel with you and what the current office can send directly to the new one. That may include a treatment summary, your medication list, and any information the next clinician needs to continue care.
Being Properly Prepared for a PCS Move
Ask how to authorize the transfer and how you’ll know the receiving office has what it needs. If you’re helping a family member move, ask what they’d like you to handle and what they want to discuss with the office themselves.
If you take medication as part of your care, bring up refill timing before you pack. Give your prescriber and pharmacy your travel dates and ask how to handle a refill that falls during the trip or just after arrival.
Find out who will handle your next prescription and when that clinician needs to see you. If you’re hoping to use telehealth during the transition, ask your current clinic whether it can see you while you’re physically in the new location.
Keep a short version of the plan where you can get to it on travel day. It might include the name of your current clinician, a date for your last appointment, the new office’s number, and a reminder to check that records arrived.
If an appointment is still pending, put the next call on your calendar so it doesn’t disappear into the moving paperwork.
Confirm the TRICARE Details for the New Location
Use TRICARE’s official moving checklist and speak with the contractor or military clinic that handles care for your plan. Ask when to update your address in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, known as DEERS, and whether your move changes your region, plan options, or primary care manager.
Keep your departure and arrival dates handy. If you’ve already scheduled care at the new location, give the contractor the name of the provider and the date.
Referral and authorization rules depend on your plan, your beneficiary status, and the type of care you need.
A helpful question is, “For this specific addiction treatment service at this location, do I need a new referral or authorization, and who submits it?”
If you already have one, ask whether it applies to the new provider and the dates you’ll need. The answers for an active-duty service member and a family member can differ, even in the same household.
If you’re comparing civilian programs, check the specific location and service with the official contractor. A provider might see patients at several offices or offer more than one level of care.
Ask the program and contractor to verify the details for the office you’d use and to explain any likely costs or approval steps before the first appointment.
For families exploring civilian options, TriCareRehabs.com offers independent referral information and explains how its helpline works. Use the official TRICARE contractor to confirm benefits, network status, and any approvals for the care you’re considering.
Put a Date on Your First Appointment After Arrival
An office may say it has room for new patients and still need time to review a referral or collect records. Ask if you can schedule an actual date and whether the appointment is an intake or a treatment visit. If it’s an intake, ask when regular appointments could begin and what happens in between. If the dates leave a gap, share that with your current team so you can discuss what to do during it.
Confirm where to go, who you’ll see, and what the office wants you to bring. If you’re moving with a partner or children, look at the household calendar before you accept a recurring appointment. Think about the drive from temporary housing and who’ll be available to help with the schedule that first week. A workable time can be hard to guess until you’ve checked a map and the school or duty schedule.
If the move gets delayed, contact both offices with the new dates. Ask who’s responsible for care until you leave and whether any appointment or approval needs to be updated. Keep a brief record of the people you speak with and the next step they gave you. That’s especially helpful if you talk with the losing clinic, the gaining clinic, and a civilian office in the same week.
Keep Some Familiar Recovery Support During the Move
If you have a sponsor or a regular meeting, decide how you’ll stay in touch while traveling. You might arrange a call on the evening you arrive or use an online meeting while you’re between places. A.A. has a meeting finder and information about online and phone meetings. Looking up one meeting near temporary housing before you leave gives you a place to start.
Think about when you’re most likely to need that connection. Perhaps it’s after the movers leave, during a long drive, or late in the evening when the rest of the household is asleep. Tell one trusted person when you expect a difficult stretch and ask when they’re free to check in. Put the time in your calendar, especially if you’re crossing time zones.
You can keep some familiar routines while you get to know people at the new location. Ask whether your regular group has an online option, and pick a local meeting to try once you’ve settled in. If a meeting doesn’t fit your schedule, look for one near work or along the route you already drive. That small detail can make it easier to keep going after the first week.
Check the Plan Once You’re There and Maintain a Support Network
In the first few days, check that the new clinic received your records and that your first appointment is still scheduled.
Tell the clinic about any medication or appointment concerns that came up on the road. If your appointment has moved, contact the clinician or clinic you agreed would help with the handoff and ask what to do in the meantime.
A PCS changes enough of your week on its own.
If you know who’s expecting you, when you’ll see them, and who you can call while you settle in, you’ve already made a few important decisions before the move makes them harder.
References
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (n.d.). Can I attend a meeting online or by phone? https://www.aa.org/faq/can-i-attend-meeting-online-or-phone
Military OneSource. (n.d.). Plan your next military PCS. https://www.militaryonesource.mil/moving-pcs/plan-to-move/
TRICARE. (2024, July 19). I’m PCSing what do I need to do? https://tricare.mil/FAQs/general/GEN_pcs
TRICARE. (2026, October 1). Substance use disorder treatment. https://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/IsItCovered/SubstanceUseDisorderTreatment
TRICARE. (2026, October 7). Referrals and pre-authorizations. https://www.tricare.mil/Referrals