European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 30, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes August 1985 Deros dilemma gets response the purpose of this letter is to bring to the attention of the armed forces Community the Impact and ramifications particularly on the family of the department of the army renovation and to offer a few suggestions to Case the rather traumatic curtailment of tour and subsequent per manent change of station to the Continental United before i begin with the specific reason for this i need to emphatically Point out that the department of the army directed the sorely needed renovation of our government quarters to commence do not for a minute think that i am saying that the quarters do not need it has come to my attention that the quarters i presently reside in have not received a comprehensive renovation since april that would equate to an approximate families on an average of a years stay per suffice to say i do indeed applaud the department of the army and the armed forces Community on the sincere efforts to upgrade the Quality of life for the servicemen Ber and his i received word of the 10 renovation on june from my building Coordie getting with my Post housing refer ral i was advised that i could re quest several areas where i would be temporarily housed it is important to Point out that my Normal Date Eligi ble for return from overseas Deros is after a 36month if i were to follow the advice of the housing referral i would have packed up my household and moved to quarters for about 50 Days Only to pack up once again for a permanent change of Sta Tion to the United states after i decided to submit a 4187 requesting curtailment of on advice from 1st personnel come in Heidel i was told the Normal time to allow for processing a 4187 was 30 Days to get to the appropriate Branch in 1st personnel and after receiving assignment instructions from department of the to allow for 14 Days for the official orders to get Back through channels to my that would mean approximately july 20 before i could expect the orders to be Back to my with 10 plus 5 Days to out process and Clear i would be leaving about 510 just prior to renovation i have exhausted every Avenue that i know to expedite processing however As of july 32 Days into processing i still did not have verification that the request was even to v that is not really the basis of my argument rather that the time is so Short that i will have no time left to coordinate any thing for my family and will literally be receiving even the name of my Post at the very last minute and will be walking into the Post Why is All this important not knowing the name of the duty Sta Tion has created quite a few problems and As each passing Day goes by it becomes even More below Ive outlined a few have two pets a 130pound German Rottweiler and a the pet shipping serv ice needs the final destination before they can give us firm prices and instructions on the i transit billeting office requires at least 30 Days notification for us to re serve a room after Clearing out of current As it the i transit quart ers Are booked solid until and we have been advised that we will be furnished a list of hotels and Gas Hauses where we can i would like someone to Tell me what i should do with my two pets in the meantime a health certificate needed for ship Ping of pets is Good for a maximum of 10 Days and to be put in a Kennel they will need a health has anyone stopped to Check on the current prices of German kennels and possible reimburse ment of Cost to the service member we in the army know that Post hous ing is not immediately available to service members on a permanent change of station to the United so the Only recourse is the gaining Post guest which also operates on a space available or off Post i know a few resources such As the army times through which even Given 1 to 2 months notification of the Post i could easily have coordinated lodging to include deposits so that As i took the last step off the plane i would be bundling my family into a new As it i will have no time for any arrangements at All is there a service morale upon re of i could scram ble to know the Post and facilities More importantly assure myself that i have Points of Contact to Lodge my family guest House on we have called All of the above and run into Blank faces and Blank Walls and always the same response where Are you going Ive been the sponsor for service members coming to Germany and acs provides a very comprehensive packet but on rotation Back to the United states is there any packet anywhere where i could know about the new Post As time will not allow for a sponsor on that end to get a packet to me in time Ive ordered a and they require at least four weeks notification to allow for the car to be delivered to the closest car lot to the new duty Advance notification even by a few weeks would have Al Lowed for a car to be waiting for for All intents and the final quarters inspection for quarters going to be renovated deals with the refrigerator and general Why would it not be possible for us to stay in the quarters until the last Day or so then Clear would that not relieve stress a bit solutions to nearly All of the above problems there is really Only one solution give the occupants of a quarters to be renovated at least four months Advance warn ing so that by two months prior to renova All occupants will have processed to have orders in two months is sufficient enough time to give occupants to make plans for rotation to the United allow occupants priority on i transit As housing requires orders before you can Reserve a Slot you would have two months on a reservation if the billets Are booked then occupants remain in quarters until a Day or two before departure via plea for soldiers to get regular dental checkups there was a practice i would like to see i remember years ago that every service member received a notice annually during the month of his birthday to go to the Den Tal i feel that this was a very Worth while program and served to make sure that every service member saw the dentist at least once a dental treatment is supposed to be one of the benefits of being in the How All too often there Are service members who do not take advantage of this even though service members Are supposed to be there Are Many who Are almost childish about seeing the and very often Are the very ones who need treatment the i have seen a number of service members who very obviously need dental care yet do not take advantage of this very valuable often the excuse in too that where i feel command emphasis is Many the need for dental treatment is even to a Lay commanders should make note of soldiers who have obvious need for dental care and put emphasis on poor dental health is not Only it reflects poorly on the appearance of Many sad though it though Many soldiers May be very proficient in their military Spe they can be less than so in other it is unfortunate that Many soldiers have to be counselled or coerced to take care of something that they should be mature enough and responsible enough to do on their this includes officers and enlisted and location withheld if housing does not want occupants to reside in quarters As late As the last several then we have no problem with the German Gasthaus but funding should be made available for pets in German perhaps it is nearly too late for myself and my family but there Are other soldiers and their families who will be affected in the near in very much aware that Dic has their hands full finalizing con tracts with the German contractors and nearly As soon As they close the contract service members Are on the surface it would seem that even the two months we were Given would be enough time the important Point is that a majority of the service members do not know the Post until nearly the last few indeed that is the most critical variable to the that leaves Little time to correspond for even temporary lodging or requires Long distance reservations to be placed to Post guest houses or of Post it May be that confirmed reservations would be nearly impossible to place on such Short any help or direction would be App re if there Are organizations organic to the army to Aid in such problems or Litera Ture available please let myself and others know As soon As Matthew Anderson Germany editors note chief warrant officer John manage ment actions enlisted personnel management 1st personnel replies the writer has expressed several the 1st personnel come can Only comment on his concern about the writer states that he was advised that it takes about 45 Days for a curtail ment request to be this in was it is important to recognize that requests for curtailment must be routed through com Mand and personnel channels prior to for warding to 1st personnel come for final the geographical dispersion of their higher and the Servic ing military personnel is a major contributing Factor to the lengthy process ing in exceptional dependent upon curtailment requests May be Han carried to 1st personnel come for immediate the decision As to whether a Given request warrants hand carry is at the discretion of the Chain of in this specific the writer submitted his request on june and 1st personnel come received it on july his curtailment was and Early departure instructions were provided to his servicing military personnel on june while the request was being his reassign ment instructions to the United states coincident to his Normal scheduled Depar Ture in late were received from the army military personnel Center via the centralized assignment process he should have been notified of his assignment almost three weeks be fore his request for curtailment reached 1st personnel we regret any inconvenience the writer and his family have had to the hardships encountered during a permanent change of station move Are bothersome enough without adding to them As the writer the much needed housing renovations have created problems for affected Fame the renovations Are Long and the problems which have been created Are of a temporary the 1st personnel come will continue to strive to provide the Best personnel support to Usa eur soldiers and their we appreciate the time and Effort spent by the writer in voicing his his efforts May help other soldiers in similar