European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 10, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Staving off stateside hassles by Clint Swift Washington Bureau chief Washington defense department employees ship More than vehicles a year Back to the states from assignments and government agencies pro vide special handling at Home if a few rules Are military transportation officials picking up a vehicle at the port can take As Little As 20 the Best preparation for a hassle free port visit is to insist that the overseas installation transportation office provide a thorough briefing on what travellers said air Force Thomas chief of the terminal division of the military traffic management Flach transportation office has a copy of a tics consolidated Pov privately owned vehicle processing Flannery the guide tells who is eligible to ship How to get to the port by train or when to arrive for quickest what lodging is where to get gasoline and whom to Sec about installing a catalytic individuals will be notified by postcard that the vehicle is ready to be picked said Donald a traffic management specialist in a tics personal prop erty the cards give a port phone number and instructions on what Days and hours vehicles can be picked owners have 45 Days after the Post card is mailed to pick up after port commanders have the option of starting proceedings to have the car stored commercially at the owners under the owners Are sent notices and warnings As port officials try to establish after 120 the vehicles could be turned in to property disposal for destruction or other use As permitted by by the time a person receives the customs officials usually have done their they Check documents and vehicles mostly to ensure the vehicle is eligible to be in for Many the Check is a paper although customs reserves the right to examine any Lehi a tic officials the inspectors also act As agents for other executive Branch departments such As the environmental Protection Agency which sets exhaust emission depart ment of transportation which administers safety Stan Dards and department of agriculture which seeks to make sure cars dont carry in pests that could harm military regulations that govern picking up privately owned vehicles on permanent change of station Are found in a thick travel the conditions under which peo ple qualify for temporary duty pay during the for May seem the personnel spokesmen for the and air Force is that individuals work out informal agreements with their supervisors to be gone Long enough to pick up the that people Are protected with duty status but the government does not pay any costs associated with the Flannery said to arrive at the port with a copy of duplicate shipping documents and an extra set of the most important document is the do form 788 that of photo by Dave Didio this new car will soon be delivered to a customer in was filled out at the overseas port describing the cars condition when it was delivered to the at the Check the vehicle against the form to see whether the vehicle has been if damage is a port staff member double checks to verify the the claim is then turned in to the judge advocate generals office at the new duty no Money changes hands at the owners generally pick up their but they May Des Ignate a family member or anyone else to make the a Veteran transportation operations specialist by a letter is enough to authorize the trans but a tic officials said to get a Power of attorney to avoid port Mike a tic commander at the Baltimore said that without a Power of his staff Calls the owner even at a duty station overseas to make certain they dont give the car to the wrong customs officials closely with military officials because of the huge volume of vehicles shipped to the states each year under the Dod customs makes some exceptions to import Law that Are available Only to people shipping within the government Dette said for service members Are not required to have catalytic converters reinstalled How Are you going to get to the port if theres no unleaded Gas available Dette the Epa authorizes five working Days after pick up to have the converter put to qualify for the five Day the converter must be on hand to show to dont ship emission equipment with household officials if the emission equipment was not removed before the car was driven on leaded a new system must be once the equipment is own ers must certify to customs that the work was properly owners must ensure that the work is done on they receive military transportation form 303 when picking up their and the form must be filled certified by the inspection Point and sent Back to the but some owners show up without a converter on the car or in the these owners could be made to Post a Bond up to three times the value of their cars before they could leave port without such equipment in but local District directors have the authority to reduce the and Many do failure to meet the requirements is a violation of the clean air the penalty is a Fine up to and the vehicle May be Selling the vehicle or testifying that the work was sup posed to have been done by a shop is no a tic officials service members must pay for reinstalling catalytic converters when their cars return to the but under a 1976 comptroller general civilian Dod employees May be the decision applies to vehicles manufactured since equipped with the converters and shipped overseas after March military and civilian Dod employees Gener ally have the same rights and responsibilities under the in most owners leave port with forces License the operations specialist How Long the vehicle May be operated before it must be registered varies with state he said owners also should arrange for insurance coverage in the states before arriving to pick up the port staff members provide enough unleaded gasoline or diesel fuel to get Drivers to the nearest filling they also help make sure that vehicles the transportation specialist that Means Little More than a jump Start in Case of a dead Battery because cars with serious problems normally would not be Page Xiv the stars and stripes May 1985