FOR ACTIVE DUTY AND MILITARY SPOUSES

Breast Milk Shipping for Military Families

Temporary duty (TDY) travel, permanent change of station (PCS) move, or weeks in the field? Your milk can get home frozen without dry ice, hazmat paperwork, or a cooler full of guesswork. 

*Sign up with your .mil email (yours or your spouse’s), shop at portal.milkstork.com/militarydiscount and the discount applies automatically at checkout.

Claim Your Milk Stork Discount

Military mom in uniform holding her young child

 

Active-duty families can access a 10% discount from Milk Stork through our Military Discount portal, and the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) may cover the cost of shipping your breast milk.

The military may cover your breast milk shipping

In January 2025, the Department of Defense approved a change to the Joint Travel Regulations covering breast milk transport. It took effect in the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) on 1 February 2025, and it applies to both temporary duty (TDY) travel and permanent change of station (PCS) orders, not just temporary duty, where the policy started.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: The authorization must be on your orders before you spend a dollar. There is no adding it afterward.

What the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) authorizes
  • Disposable storage bags and non-durable containers
  • Cold shipping packages
  • Refrigeration
  • Commercial shipping
  • Excess baggage fees
  • Dry ice and regular ice

Reimbursement of up to $1,000 applies to the storage bags and non-durable containers, cold shipping packages, and refrigeration. Commercial shipping, excess baggage fees, and ice are authorized in addition to that amount.

Who it covers
  • Service members traveling on permanent change of station (PCS) orders
  • Service members traveling on Temporary duty (TDY) travel orders
  • DoD civilian employees traveling on temporary duty (TDY) travel orders
  • In every case, for a breastfeeding child up to 12 months old
How to get it on your orders

1

Ask while your orders are being cut. Request the breast milk transport accommodation up front. Authorization must appear on the temporary duty (TDY) travel or permanent change of station (PCS) orders before you incur any expense.

2

Name the expense categories. Reference the joint travel regulations (JTR) breast milk transport accommodation by name so the categories above are captured, not just "shipping."

3

Keep every single receipt. The usual $75 receipt threshold does not apply here. Receipts are required for all expenses, regardless of amount.

4

Check your eligibility. The accommodation covers a breastfeeding child up to 12 months.

5

File through your normal travel voucher. Submit it with your receipts, as you would for any other authorized travel expense.

Not sure whether your orders already include it? Ask your travel office or the office cutting your orders before you buy anything. Once you incur the expense without authorization, the claim gets much harder.

Read the DoD policy announcement at the Defense Travel Management Office → travel.dod.mil/About/News/Article/Article/3788320/

Milk Stork is a commercial shipping company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a vendor of the Department of Defense. This page summarizes publicly available DoD policy for general information and is not travel-entitlement advice. Information and policies provided by the DoD are subject to change at any time. Reimbursement decisions rest with your service and your travel office. Confirm your specific entitlement with them before incurring any expense.
military woman hold two young kids

Three ways orders get between you and your baby
You're on temporary duty (TDY) travel. Your baby is home.

Two weeks at a school, a conference, a training rotation. You keep pumping, and then you're standing in a hotel room with a freezer the size of a shoebox and eighty ounces you're not willing to pour out.

Ship it home overnight instead. Pack what you've pumped, hand it to FedEx, and keep your supply and your stash.

 
TMO won't move your freezer stash.

Household goods shipments don't take perishables. So the stash you spent nine months building becomes your problem across three time zones, in a car with a baby, or in a checked bag you're not sure will make it.

You have two ways to do this.

  1. Ship it ahead of you with the Stash Shipper. Up to 180 oz of frozen milk per cooler, frozen for up to 96 hours, with a prepaid FedEx Priority Overnight label already in the box. Your milk is waiting at the new duty station before you finish the drive.
  2. Carry it yourself with the Stash Mover. Same 180 oz capacity, same 96 hours frozen, no shipping label. This is the one for when you're driving your own permanent change of station (PCS) or flying with it.

Both hold up to 30 six-ounce storage bags. Neither uses dry ice.

 
Weeks out. Milk that still needs to get home.

Field rotations, workups, long schools, remote assignments. If you're pumping through a separation and you can reach a commercial FedEx pickup from a street address, you can send 180 oz home at a time in a Stash Shipper and keep going.

We ship via FedEx, which does not service APO, FPO, DPO, or Diplomatic Pouch addresses. If you're deployed somewhere your mail runs through a military post office, or you're shipboard, we can't originate a pickup for you. See the FAQ below for the one workaround that sometimes helps.

How it works
sendemail
1. Sign up with your .mil email.

Register at the Military Discount portal using your own or your spouse's .mil address. The 10% discount automatically applies at checkout when you shop on the portal.
products
2. Select the cooler that fits your orders.

Overnight for a temporary duty (TDY) travel trip, 180 oz for a stash.
packing
3. Pack your frozen milk.

Lay frozen bags flat, fill every gap, close it tight, tape the outer box, and apply the label. No dry ice, no activation button.
delivered
4. Milk Stork does the rest.

Vacuum-insulated panels keep your milk frozen for up to 96 hours from the moment it goes in the cooler until it is delivered to your final destination via FedEx Priority Overnight.

Built for the way orders actually work
no-dry-ice

No dry ice. No hazmat. Milk Stork coolers use medical-grade vacuum-insulated coolers instead of dry ice, so there's no hazardous-materials declaration, no sourcing dry ice in a town you just arrived in, and no restriction on carrying it.
96-hourtemperature

96 hours frozen. The cooler holds frozen temperature for up to 96 hours from the moment you put your frozen milk in, with enough margin for a weather delay or a missed pickup.
soldier

Active military members and their spouses get a 10% discount on any cooler ordered through the Military Discount portal. Create your Milk Stork account with your .mil email, order at www.milkstork.com/militarydiscount, and the discount is applied automatically at checkout.
headphones

Someone is actually watching your shipment. Our team monitors every shipment, not just a tracking number. If something goes sideways in transit, we're already working on it.

Milk Stork Products
The Stash Shipper
Stash Shipper

Ship your freezer stash ahead of you. Holds up to 180 oz of frozen milk (about 30 six-ounce bags) frozen for up to 96 hours, with a prepaid FedEx Priority Overnight label in the box. Built for permanent change of station (PCS) moves and shipping home during long separations.
The Stash Mover
Stash Mover

For moving, not mailing. Same 180 oz capacity and 96 hours frozen, no shipping label. This is the cooler for when you're driving your own permanent change of station (PCS) or flying with your stash and checking it as luggage.
The Pump & Ship
Pump & Ship / Freeze & Ship

For temporary duty (TDY) travel, schools, and conferences. Pump on the road and send it home overnight.
The Pump & Tote
Pump & Tote / Freeze & Tote

TSA-compliant carry-on totes for the legs you handle yourself, like the drive to the airport, the terminal, and the connection.
Milk Cubby
Milk Cubby

Active cooling for up to 15 hours. Best for short trips, in-person handoffs, and daily cold storage when no refrigerator is available. 
Shop all coolers
 

FAQs

ELIGIBILITY & REIMBURSEMENT
 
SHIPPING LOGISTICS
 
USING THE COOLER

Ready to get your milk home?

Sign up with your .mil email, pick the cooler that matches your orders, and let us handle the cold chain. One less thing to figure out on a timeline you didn't set.

Claim Your Milk Stork Discount