European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 10, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pick Emem out by Clint Swift Washington Bureau chief Baltimore army staff Francisco Jimenez had time for a smoke and a his Van didst work when he arrived to pick it Sally an air Force information systems manag was car purred like a Kitten and she didst have to Jimenez and Brown Are just two of Many service members who pick up cars daily at stateside ports after overseas what happened to them is representative of what to expect arriving at a stateside with one except their vehicles were shipped to Baltimore Only East coast port with Al inside cars Are found with the help of the arrival explained army Mike the a tic port stevedores move the cars out of trocar vans and fill two warehouses with them at Peak usually in he they give each car two Gallons of unleaded or diesel enough to get the cars to a filling station out Side the Featherston said the average waiting time is 20 though it is first first customers Are advised to pick up their cars before of co 1st Continental military intelligence at fort left work at lunchtime with a couple of buddies and drove the 12 Miles to the military traffic management commands hed received a postcard More than two weeks saying his Black 1979 Ford Van was not quite when longshoremen tried to fire up the Van deep in the cavernous Interior of the a tic the Only response was a whirring and clicking that said the Battery didst have enough juice to turn the the Stevedore company employees who move cars inside the warehouse also help if the cars dont a no Morse signals shipped the Van 18 from it arrived March i knew it had a bad the Lightyear Veteran drawing on a cigarette in the ports panelled waiting he said the Van was headed to the Ford dealer for repairs to the steering while longshoremen hooked up a he grabbed sport Magazine from the rack and sat Down on a Gray folding chair in front of the Wal mounted Jimenez waited nearly 45 minutes before a team of longshoremen overcame corroded Battery posts and two dead he and the two soldiers he came with were still processing in to their and they had been told at the orderly room to take the rest of the Day off and get the Job clerk Kathleen Womer handed Jimenez military transportation form 303 to return to the port within five certifying that emissions equipment had been reinstalled on his Jimenez told her the Van might be in the repair shop longer than Womer said to have the shop install the emissions equipment first and stamp the form for him to return by As he left her Jimenez found his Van running at fast Idle in front of the warehouse i thought you Guys Wash it for he called to master Jimmie the noncommissioned officer in charge of the port for an extra King adding that dust was the Price of relatively secure indoor under a sign warning that making false damage claims May be prosecuted As Jimenez gave the Van a Thor Ough extending his inspection to the panelled and carpeted Interior and to a Bozof tools he stashed behind the then he signed no exceptions and drove out into the Snow that promised to Cut the How of port customers that of was the first customer the port office greeted after she arrived at after a train ride from but found that longshoremen strictly observe rules such As lunch at 1 the Loudspeaker Brown and a Longshoreman took a copy of do form 788 and headed for the Back of the Brown turned her car Over to the Navy 12 at Pearl and arrived in Baltimore about five weeks although she had been told in Hawaii to inquire about her car in Early she had phoned the port soon after she arrived and was picking up the car before she had received a postcard the 1980 Phoenix leaped to life with the second turn of the starter and soon stood waiting outside the she opened the Hood to make sure the Battery was the one she shipped with the a 60second tour of the cars outside revealed a handful of scratches and flaking paint that had been marked on do form 788 when she delivered the no she wrote on the Womer gave her directions and a pass to hand guards at the port Brown said with a Grin and a wave through the Driver Side it was shed been served in 20 had either Brown or Jimenez needed the address of a nearby Muffler shop that does catalytic converter work was available in a tics consolidated Pov processing the guide provides directions to the port office hours phone numbers area train and taxi routes and costs and tips on military and commercial the guide is available at installation transportation offices in the states and abroad and at a tic photo by Dave Didio new cars arriving by rail Overlook rows of already unloaded autos awaiting shipping at May 1985 the stars and stripes Page Xiv