Texas and Arizona PCS base guides
These five guides are for families with orders to Fort Hood (which many people still call Fort Cavazos), Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Bliss, Luke AFB or Davis-Monthan AFB. Each one sticks to what you need to sort out before and during the first weeks: which gate is open when, where to sign in, what to hand-carry, which office must see you before you sign a lease, and what your 2026 housing allowance is in that area. Every figure links to the page or file it came from, with the date it was read.
The bases
| Guide | DoD housing area | E-5 BAH, with dependents | What's covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Hood (Fort Cavazos) | FORT HOOD, TX | $1,695 | Main gate, AIE, ID office, housing office, schools contact |
| Joint Base San Antonio | SAN ANTONIO, TX | $1,869 | Sign-in at each of three locations, MHO phones, ZIP rents |
| Fort Bliss | EL PASO, TX | $1,809 | All twelve access points, Reception Company, privatized housing |
| Luke AFB | PHOENIX, AZ | $2,289 | Sign-in order, lodging, West Valley ZIP rents |
| Davis-Monthan AFB | DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB, AZ | $1,905 | Welcome Center, Craycroft VCC, Tucson ZIP rents |
BAH from the DoD 2026 BAH ASCII files, read at build time. Look up any grade in the BAH calculator.
Why the rent tables matter
BAH is one number for a whole housing area, but rents inside that area aren't uniform. HUD publishes Fair Market Rents, and for the San Antonio, Phoenix and Tucson metros it publishes them ZIP by ZIP. Setting your allowance next to HUD's benchmark for a particular ZIP is a quick way to see where your BAH stretches and where it gets tight, before you start touring homes. The Arizona guides go furthest, with 14 to 17 ZIPs each.
One thing to know about each base
- Fort Hood: Military OneSource says you must in-process through the Housing Services Office before you rent, lease or buy off post. More
- JBSA: Lackland asks for at least 15 copies of your orders, and first-term Airmen attend FTAC within 45 days of arrival. More
- Fort Bliss: Reception Company won't approve PTDY or house-hunting leave on arrival, so get it from your losing unit. More
- Luke AFB: airlines usually won't ship pets in or out from April to September. More
- Davis-Monthan: your Welcome Center appointment happens within 72 business hours of arrival, and house-hunting leave waits until it's done. More
Neighborhood detail for Fort Hood and JBSA
Separate local sites already cover neighborhoods around two of these bases: forthoodneighborhoods.com and jbsaneighborhoods.com. The pages here cover only the base side and point to those sites for neighborhood detail.
How current is this?
Installation pages change, and gate hours change most often. Each section shows the date it was read. The sources page lists every page and file used.