My husband just received orders across country, and we are expected to be there in three months. I don't think our house will sell before then. Will the military sell it for us?

It's true that many companies have a buy-out program, which basically means that if your company asks you to move, they will buy your house and sell it for you.
The military is not one of these organizations. 

"But how does the military expect me to sell my house?" you ask. "Especially in this market. How can they ask us to move and then not help us with the house?"
The military never said you had to live in a home. That's what base housing is for. They also never said you had to own anything. In fact, if the military had its way, not only would your husband not have a house, he wouldn't be married either.

Then Uncle Sam could put him up in the Bachelor Officer's/Enlisted Quarters (BO/EQ) for $11 a day. Things such as spouses, families, school years, mortgages and real estate are all inconveniences that the military would rather have your husband deal with on his own time that he doesn't have. No wait. I take that back. The military wants you--the spouse--to deal with these things. Your husband doesn't know what to do or where to go unless the military has ordered it. This leaves you as the person responsible for making sure that the house sells and everything from the children to the computer end up in the same location that Uncle Sam has sent your spouse.

But the military will move our things for us, right? That's good news, isn't it?

Yes, the military will send a van and four men that you don't know to pack up all your belongings and put them on a truck headed to what you hope is the same destination as you and your family. You will find, however, that because you are military and not the actual person paying the bill, these four men you don't know won't really care if they pack your husband's grass-stained work shoes with your grandmother's white linen table cloth.

The secret handshake, if you will, for getting excellent service from the four men that you don't know is making donuts available to them in the morning and then pretending not to notice when they take a two-hour lunch break on your back porch.

Donuts. Got it. That sounds easy enough. So moving day will be fairly hassle-free then?

No. Moving day will still be hell. In the same way that going to Disney World always seems like a good idea until you are walking through the gates, you will think that you have everything organized and ready for an efficient move. And then you will quickly learn otherwise.

You see, we often forget that moving means packing up all of our belongings -- plates, napkins, skillets, beds -- until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon on the first day of the move, when suddenly we realize that it sure would be nice to have something other than a box to sit on. Likewise, "camping out" on the living room floor always seems super fun. Until you are doing it.

You can always hope that a nice neighbor or friend will invite you over to dinner that first night, when your house is almost completely dismantled. But use caution here as well. After eight hours of being in a house where things (sofas, cabinets, cushions) that have been in the same place for years are suddenly moved, kicking up a surprising amount of dirt, dust and stale Cheerioes, you won't smell so great. The very best friends will offer you dinner and their shower.

What happens when we get to our destination? Does the military unpack for us?

You are assuming that your belongings, like luggage at the airport, will get to your destination. But, just in case it does, no, the military will not unpack for you. Four new men that you don't know, who have been hired by the military, may or may not unpack for you. But why not just do this the way every other military family does? Open and unpack the necessary boxes, then shove all the rest in your new attic. Don't even take the tape off these boxes. Some people have gone through their whole military careers with boxes that they have not opened in 10 moves. Then one day, when they finally retire, they open the boxes, now tagged with moving stickers in every sort of color, only to find that the boxes are filled with their trash.

The movers will pack my trash can without emptying it first?

Yes.