European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 19, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday May 19, 19b6 the stars and stripes page11 Ahn Landers letters dear Ann Landers i urge you to find room in your column for a letter thai is. Sure to Benefit a lot of teen agers. Dear mom and dad today i saw some thing that made me Stop and think a teen age kid with Rotten Leech. Trie Guy was quite Good looking but when he opened Hii Mouth you could see crooked stained decayed Teeth. .1 wandered How he. Could walk around like that. I remember How i used to hate Hose denial appointments when 1 was a teen Ager. My braces were so ugly. They Hurt Loo. Several Teeth had to be pulled Ami that awful Drill when 1 needed fillings drove me nun 1 baled every minute or it and would have Given anything to quit right in the Middle by you would t hear of it. I know my denial work must have Cost you thousands of dollars. We were far from Rich but you knew the importance of a healthy Mouth thai looked presentable. Bless you Tor Hal. I guess the Best Way i can pay you Back is by making Jure Iny own children have Good dental care. This Means insisting that they Nick with it. Thanks mom and dad from the Bottom of my heart kisses Tost. Kitts dark tits Whit Swett letter i Hope Eter Parent to reads to will Tike Rood look at Bis cd Imirea a Teeth it igbo. Acc la Tell great Deal about to Tull person the Blu of himself. Beautiful healthy it la pm be asset. Crooked decayed and Dingy Teeth relay the message i Don t think i m Worth taking care of.". Lack of Money is no excuse. There ire dental schools ill our that will Tike on patients at a fraction of what a Pawl thing dentist would charge. Dear Ann Landers my husband had a hot temper but he never actually hit me until two years after we were married. One Day i washed his favorite sweater in hot water and it shrank. That night i went to bed with Beefsteak on my Eye and wore dark glasses for a week three months later he cracked Rny jaw because i ale three fourths of the Pirn in Stead of to Pilling it 50-50 with him. I fought Back with an Iron Skillet Over his head. If t had had a gun 1 would have shot him. The following Christmas we Gat into an argument during it card game in the Home of Friend. He tried to choke me. I knew then and there that one Day he would kill me or i would kill him. When we got Home 1 told him to gel on the phone and Call spouse abuse or i was leaving. We both attended meetings three limes a week. Within a few months i knew he would never hit me again. There is some thing wonderful about sharing your pro Lemi with people who know exactly How you feel because they have been through the lame hell and found their Way Back. Keep idling people where to go for help. If they Are smart they Wilt Hiten. Spouse abuse is funded by our county and was listed under menial health in the phone Book. Thal l where you told me to look. Thanks a million. Ann Well be forever saved in Florida stars pfc too bid Pooie abut it it Wal of other Low ceif kelp write to nation form All letter to the editor must contain the tall printed name Tod address of the writer Ltd Musl i be signed. We do not read in  we will withhold your pm recast i protect your pricy. A letters re subject to editing. Careful packaging can prevent damage to parcels -. In the pm Ihrck Yean my wife and i have mailed Many gifts thai Contin inc porcelain China or Crystal to family and friends in the slain about 50 percent of these packages have been destroyed. I Don l mean that the contents were damaged i mean that the entire package looked like it was kicked front Europe to the slates. We Don t puck our boils haphazardly. We pack them Wilh styrofoam Bubble wrap and any other High Lech wrap that we can buy locally. Nothing works. A few questions 1. How often docs the army postal sys tem in Europe conduct Sample mailings to determine the delivery time and percentage of successful deliveries from the Continental us. To Europe and from Europe to the .? 2. How often does inc army postal sys Tran mail packages containing a Melcora to Sample addresses in the slates to deter mine the prop Ricly of mail handling my professional business mag Adnes inform me Hal major mail order companies and pack aging  do these tests periodically to lot inc reliability and Gimli incas of me postal system. J. How much Money was paid out in postal damage claims to european mailers in the last 12 months and what percentage of packages do these claims represent 4. Where is most of this damage happen ing in the army system or in the  Postal system 5. How about running a Stan and stripes special on How to package fragile gifts to maximize the probability of Success Ful delivery. If the army postal system does t con duct these types of lots How can they say that they Are providing an acceptable professional service to those of us in Europe who depend on hem chief warrant officer Donald b. Holliday Ansbach Germany editor s note we received two replies to ibis letter. The first 3 from senior Muter sol thou j. Rosber chief policy and analysis Branch t01�lh air postal Squadron Safe thank you for your letter. First i d like to say that the air Force docs not conduct Sample mailings to lest the reliability of the 1.ls. Postal struck nor do we use a Meler mailing mis. We do however collect and report Iran sit time statistics seven Days a month at select Surrey locations throughout the european theater. We report these statistics to the military postal service Agency Mesa to Alexandria a. They collate the information to identify and resolve problems in mail transportation networks. The second item i d like to address b damage claims. The Mesa publishes a quarterly report of damaged claims on out going insured parcels sent from air Force Apos. In 1985, this figure dropped to 6,417 claims. It is hoped ibis an India Don Una military postal clerks patrons and mail  facility personnel Are doing a belter Job to ensure Nail arrives safely through the Myslem. Finally for packaging pointers i direct Maikra to it fou Wug uses poster 74. Packaging Pointer Apos must display in lobbies in uses publication 1, pack aging for mailing available at spot. The uses pud cauda 2 b a direct excerpt of chapter 120 of the uses Domestic mall manual in i a 17-Page Booklet that Ciera Evelyth log from Container and outside wrap to packaging liquid and High density loads. It Coo Laim several visual aids to assist customer in packaging fragile Arti cles for mailing. The second reply is provided by 1st it Daniel �. Olien. Chief mail str Lees Branch postal operations directorate. 1st per com postal management is concerned about incidents such As the damages to your packages and makes concentrated Effort to identify and eliminate the causes of mall damage. The problem Baa been approached to rough four initiatives. First new pack aging resin latins were implemented in 1978, to ensure tint customers parcels Are properly prepared for mailing. Second improvements Are being made in parcel processing equipment. Third our employees Are trained to handle parcels carefully and to accept Only correctly prepared ones. Finally Ibe United states postal serv ice published rules in the Federal Register that increased Ribeir authority o line con tract and air Carrier who mishandle damage or delay mail. Through these initiatives it is hoped that the incidence of Damien will decline. The United slates postal. Group Europe with the assistance of the military postal service Agency and inc United Stales postal service use constantly monitors null transit limes for warning and outgoing mail. The established Standard from inc Continental  To european Apo is that is percent of the first class idler mail be delivered within seven Days. Accent data indicates that letter mail is being delivered within 5,5 Days to Apo within and 6.4 Days to Apo outside the Federal Republic of Germany. Average transit Lime of let ters from selected european Apo to  Addressees is 7.8 Days. The army postal system does not mall packages which contain a meters to measure the reliability and gentleness 0f the postal system. The uses maintain files on at claims for lost or damaged registered and insured mail. Based on the information gathered from these claims the postal service is Able to identify and remedy problem areas. In 1985, the uses processed 13,071 claims for mail damage or loss for a total of $996,300.37 for Apo throughout Usah Kur. This figure can be compared to the 11,101,604 sacks of mall processed by european Apo in the past year. There is no Way to determine exactly where the damage to your parcels occurred however since the military postal service is an Extension of the United Stales postal strike uses accepts responsibility for inc payment of claims. I Emu personnel constantly strive to a disc patrons on proper packing techniques. A postal clerk is doing a Dissert ice if he or she accepts a package for mailing int is improperly prepared. The follow ing packaging pointers Are provided As you requested containers shipping containers must be Strunc enough to hold the con tents during handling. They should be made from paperboard corrugated or solid fibreboard Kraft Board Wood or Metal. The Container must be Strong enough to protect the contents from the weight of other mail and be Large enough to hold items with extra space for cushioning material if you arc using a Container that has been used before or has advertising printed on it Nark out or cover the printing or old Label to prevent confusion As to the Mailer or Ibe addressee of the parcel. If the Box is too Large and tie items Are not properly held in place and cushioned the contents May shift in transit. If the Box u too Small the cushioning May not adequately protect the items and the Box May break open. Cushioning cushioning absorbs the Shock and vibration that a parcel and its contents May be subjected to during handling and transit. Individually wrap and Cushion each item and leave enough space Between pieces to avoid Strain or damage examples of cushioning material Are Excelsior foamed plastics corrugated flee aboard polystyrene Cotton clothing and shredded newspapers the paper used by gift wrap centers is usually Loo thin unless an abundant amount is used. When mailing Glass or other fragile items use one or More of the materials mentioned above and place at least a Lnch of cushioning Between Flat items e.g., plates and at least 2 inches around other pieces heavy and lightweight items should not be packed in the same Container. Loose fill cushioning Musl overfill the Container before ii is closed to prevent the contents from moving around however it should not change the shape of the Container. Once you have finished your packaging you should be Able to shake the parcel without hearing the contents move if you hear movement add More cushioning. Postal clerks cannot accept panels for mailing of Ibe enclosed items shift when the parcel is shaken. Wrapping and sealing out Side wrapping paper should be Al least As strand As the paper used for grocery bags Flimsy wrapping paper can be torn off and lost which makes the parcel Nan Dellve Rii Hie. Even Wilh Stro Rij wrapping paper you Sli Ould include a Complete address and Clurn address on a piece of paper inside the parcel use a Strong tape to keep the parcels and wrapping paper Well fastened daring postal handling. Postal clerks cannot accept parcels that arc scaled Wilh cello Phane or mashing tape most Apo pro vide free paper and paper tape for your use. " if you hate any further questions on this or any other postal matter i encourage you to Contact your local postal offi cer or 1st it. Olson at sch Etingen Risili Lary 379- 7643/6364. The difference in volume handled by the air Force and army can parity account for the variation in the Numor of claims processed by each Levitt. 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