European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 11, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes tuesday june 11, 1985 . Pickup smooth and painless by Dave Diehl . Bureaus Licking up a privately owned vehicle in the United kingdom is a smooth and painless pro Cess according to the people who run the operation at Felixstowe and at the military bases. Army master sgt. Larry Wells chief of cargo operations at the military traffic and manage ment come s unit in Felixstowe said his staff handles More than 6,500 vehicles a year entering and leaving the United kingdom for defense department civilians . Wells said he knows How important it is for customers to get their cars As soon As possible after they arrive in Britain. For that reason he said his co workers usually have the word out to the base traffic management offices within a Day of the arrival of the car. It is up to the base mos to get in touch with the owners. We try to stay out of dealing with the members directly Wells said. We want the to to know what s happening that s Why they re in  Wells explained that the people at the a tic head quarters at Felix Stowe notify the mos twice a Day of car shipments arriving at the port. He said it is up to the mos to let the customers know when their car is read for pickup. The to at Raf Mildenhall responsible for vehicle shipments for people stationed at nearby Raf Laken Heath notifies motorists when their cars Are in port usually on the Day the car arrives according to master sgt. Peter Romolu cots head of the personal property Section at the 513th trans so at Mildenhall. He said if customers can t be reached by phone they receive a let Ter. Although the process of picking up a vehicle in the . Is a simple one romaleotes and Wells agreed that most problems Stem from people not having the right paperwork to retrieve their vehicles. Wells singled out customs clearance forms that All too often get lost somewhere in a car s transit. He said mos arc told when they Are missing from a vehicle and getting new ones involves Only a trip to the base pass and identification Section. Wells said there s no other Way to get the car out of the customs compound without the proper clearance forms. He said people can avoid problems when picking up cars if they make sure that they have the documents needed. He said besides the customs clearance forms they must have proof of insurance for the car six copies of orders a valid Driver s License proof of ownership of the car and a military id card. After picking up the car at the port the vehicles must be inspected by either an cafes garage or one of the base Auto Hobby shops said tech. Sgt. Guido Liber tiny head of the pass and id card Section at Milden Hall. He said the inspection is Only to Check for proper seat belts and to adjust the headlights for driving on the left Side of the Road. Libertiny said that without the inspection cars can t be registered on bases and fuel rations won t be issued. The inspection which is free at Auto Hobby shops costs $1 at cafes garages and must be done within five Days after the vehicle is picked up. Wells said that most of the vehicles that arrive in Britain Are either on time or not much later than seven Days beyond the scheduled arrival time. He said the factors that affect arrival time Are usually port process ing times and the distance the ship has to travel. He said it takes about 30 Days from an East coast . Port and about 60 Days from More Distant ports such As Oakland and Long Beach Calif. One problem that does t seem to plague . Port is damage to vehicles during shipment. Wells said 99 percent of incoming cars to Felixstowe Are Putin containers so damage is either non existent or mini Mal. Vandalism problems also Are rare Wells said. Army sgt. Calvin Darthard head of the import Export Point at the Felixstowe port said one of his biggest problems is customers with the wrong paperwork. Often the problems Stem from people not knowing what to bring. Darthard also serves As a customs agent at the port along with one other inspector. Together they pro Cess the cars entering and leaving the port. Darthard said occasionally customers have come to pick up a car that has t arrived yet. I wish everyone was working from the same Sheet of music Darthard said. The problems Aren t always with the customers he said. Many of those arriving at the port wrongly have not been Given the right information at the bases Darthard said. Cars arriving at the port Are Given two Gallons of fuel so the owner can get to the nearest service station. The busiest times Are around noon and customers should plan to wait 20-30 minutes to get their vehicles. The Felixstowe Center is open monday through Fri Day except american holidays from 8 . To 3 45p.m. �,.-�._,.,.,. M is photo by Terry d. Bake staff sgt. Redick Hatfield of the 532nd signal co in Giessen puts plates on his Van