European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 17, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes moving tip videotape the entire process. I a Nurt a or rare no re Tarp a Necit the answer to an excellent move with nothing Sto tray to regulation packers do not write Down each Len and Little to no damage is simple a video camera. Item in a Carton. If you have household goods going it took us 30 moves to figure out this solution. If you Don t have a video camera rent or borrow one and use it in every room in your quarters including storerooms. Shoot everything As it is telling about the items you pan slowly Don t move it fast or you will become seasick when you View it. The Day the packers arrive shoot each Packer As her she is working with your possessions saying the name of each Packer for the audio. Do this each Day the packers Are handling your belongings. Shoot the moving Van. Shoot the crates As they Are every part of the moving experience. Say Nice things if applicable about the people whore packing your household goods. Tell How much you paid for your Llandro and Hummel collections Tell How Many los Are in your collection How Many cd you have the serial numbers of your electronic equipment to include computer As Well As stereo components. If you Are shipping weapons give the name serial num Bers Etc. Pack the videocassette in your briefcase or handbag wrapped in plastic. Upon arrival at your new Home record your household goods As they come off the truck As Well As the movers who Are unpacking your goods again giving their names. You now have a Complete viewable record of your old Home As Well As proof of All the items you own verification in Case something does happen to your possessions. That record is easily transportable to you next duty station. You have proof to show investigators in Case something is stolen about who might have taken your items while the packing was done. If a Container is opened at the warehouse you have proof that you owned the items that were taken. Con into storage you have proof of the condition the items were in when they left your quarters. We had a fantastic move with three minor items broken nothing stolen. A first in 30 moves. Linda Worthington Heidelberg West Germany i am writing this letter in response to household goods theft Security the writer and responder bring up some fantastic Points such As itemizing albums cassette and videotapes and compact discs on paper taking copies with you and if you can afford it mailing the items. I would like to add to that letter by saying that those items Are not the Only things to itemize. You should also itemize anything else of value such As jewelry an furniture you might have stereo television camera and video equipment typewriters family heirlooms and anything else you consider valuable. It is also not a bad idea to take pictures of these items and take serial numbers Down. This will help to prove your ownership. Also if you Don t have receipts try to remember How much these items Are Worth. When it comes to the packers coming to your Housetop pack let them know who is in charge. It s you and it s your household goods that they Are Messing with. I you value your goods you Are going to have to take a few hours out of your life so you can watch these people. They will steal items such As jewelry if they notice you Are not watching. It s not hard to slip something in the pocket especially a ring or similar item. My sister lost her class ring because my Mother took her eyes off them and they noticed it. Here Are some tips that work super for us. _ before the packers arrive take everything possible out of the bathroom. The packers would probably like to use the bathroom in privacy if they need it. Let the packers know that they will pack one room at a time or if both the sponsor and spouse Are Home they can if they wish pack two rooms. This greatly decreases the chances of theft. If there Are two or More packers in a room Andone has to go to the bathroom escort them All to the bathroom area until the individual is done and then let them resume in the same room you were in. Most important of All is to keep your eyes on them if you suspect foul actions by All Means report them. Everyone including myself says nothing is going to believe me it works. When i moved Here from another european assignment we had a lot of problems with the packers. They made sexual com ments about my wife it s Nice having a local from that country Over to your House who can Surprise the they were extremely Bossy about things and upon de livery Many items were damaged or broken. Although we submitted a claim it s still Nice to have the original item. I reported All this and within a month received reply. The letter said that the contractor fully agreed with my accusations and that the subcontractor was immediately terminated from his contract with them. Again it works. Last but not least if you have a loss or damage claim it but Best of All do not lie about it. Tell the truth and Don t try to get anything extra out of it. It s your career. Sgt. Kenneth r. Young Munich West Germany abusive incidents discussed by pay clerk i m a pay clerk at the 266th theater finance Center tic and have been for about a year. As a pay clerk i have encountered numerous abusive incidents from our customers some of which Are understand Able. Some customers have trouble getting through to us or feel they re get Ting the runaround. I can understand some of that frustration and can accept some of that abusive Ness not that i or anyone should have to. However a recent incident with one individual was so Hurt Ful to me personally that i can t forget it. Many people Don t understand that As pay clerks we can Only take action base Don documentary input from various sources such As of 50s from the pos or time cards from the work centers. We also have some very strict guidelines for processing of those documents within set time frames. On dec. 13 an of 50 came in on this individual from his co changing his current Grade from a is 12-2 to a is 11 2. The effective Date was oct. 8. I Audi Ted the pay account and found that a Large amount would have to be deducted from his account. I could have processed the deduction right then but i try to treat customers the Way i would Hope to be treated. I decided to Call him and work out mutually agreeable repayment schedule some amount Over so Many pay Peri ods. When i got this Man on the phone i did t get further than my name is and i just received an of 50 changing your Grade from 12-2 to 11-2," when he said hold it Don t you screw me up he did t even give me the Courtesy fallowing me to finish my sentence or to explain the reason for my Call before directing what i consider very vulgar and abusive language at me. I was flabbergasted i believe Many of my co workers share similar experiences. So often we re subject to unnecessary abuse such As this incident. It is even harder for us to understand when it happens while we Are trying to go the extra mile for the Cus Tomer. We Are human beings and capable of making mistakes. But we can do things right too just ask those folks whose Paris always right from one pay period to the next. Be assured that when mistakes Are made regardless of who makes them we will be correcting them whenever it is possible. Name withheld Heidelberg West Germany unit offering measures to help curb Dpi i recently was awakened again at 4 . By the charge of quarters informing me that i need to report to the my station to pick up sgt. John Doe for driving while intoxicated. It must be a bad dream i can t imagine Why a super Soldier like sgt. Doe would do such a stupid thing. Why would a Junior Leader with such great potential and Promise throw his career away Over a couple of Beers and such a Beautiful family How will the handle the pain and humiliation of seeing dad punished How could he do this especially after All the incessant warnings since i be been in command there have been two Fine cos from this unit apprehended for Dpi. Fortunately there were no physical injuries involved. Unfortunately two promising careers have been severely damaged. As their commander i have feelings of guilt that i could have done something More to prevent these failings. Since then this unit has implemented the following measures in the Hope of preventing fur ther Dis future commanders May find them helpful instruct your cos to confiscate the car keys of an Soldier who has been drinking in the billets. Publish a designated Driver roster and ensure each Soldier keeps a copy in his Wallet. Maintain an emergency taxi fund at the cd desktop pay for taxi fares of soldiers drinking downtown. Inform your soldiers that if they exhibit erratic drinking patterns in the billets they will not be permitted to drive. Offer plenty of non alcoholic beverages at unit reason must Lead fight against terrorism i feel compelled to disagree with the Reader who wrote the letter "u.s. Talks with Plo the Reader claims that Vassar Arafat is a known terrorist. I la not argue that however does the writer know that the groups making the most dramatic Vio Lent attacks against the United states split from the Plo because the Plo was too soft i Don t believe it s fair to link these groups directly to the Plo any More than i believe that the killing of a Stone throwing 12-year-old by an armed israeli Soldier is justified. The Reader goes on to chastise former president Ronald Reagan for taking Little or no action against terrorism. Would he have us indiscriminately bomb suspected terrorist hideouts killing soon to be terrorist children As Well there Are Little Well defined boundaries in this fight against terrorism and often it is extremely difficult to pinpoint any group having direct responsibility for an act. I remember Reading about an Arab Plo sympathizer killed in the United states by a car bomb. A statement by the jewish defense league basically said Good riddance. Thankfully no innocent bystanders were killed. Is this the direct action the Reader con Dones i abhor terrorism like anyone else. But we need voice of reason to Lead the fight not Blind retribution. Likewise a step towards limited peace in the Middle East should be welcomed not ignored. David Villarreal Lindsey As West Germany parties. Knowing the Folly of human nature the military will never be Able to completely eradicate the crime of Dpi. Yet we owe it to our soldiers and their families to do everything possible to prevent these incidents from occur Reg. To those battalion and brigade commanders who impose punishment for this Type of offence i urge youth examine each Case on an individual basis. Some crimes Are mortal but the Good Soldier should be give the Chance to Soldier out from beneath a first time incident. Make the penalty heavy but not so heavy that it crushes the Soldier. Finally to All soldiers if you drink Don t drive. Name and location withheld pen pals i am a 13-year-old girl who would like to have pen pals in other countries. My hobbies Are Reading writing and working Cross stitch needlepoint and Latch Hook. I would like to write to anyone any age anywhere. Courtney Junker 6823 Vantage or. Alexandria a. 22306 i would like to correspond with people All Over the world. I am 30 years old and the Mother of two boys Gladys Bolander 1617corrinst. Fort Worth Texas 76131 i am 26 years old and my hobbies Are singing dancing watching television and Reading magazines. I m looking Forward to receiving tetters soon. Rosalie Sarmiento 5420 Butu Anan St. Gated Sta. Cruz Laguna Philippines i am 23 years old and my hobbies Are watching television Reading dancing playing Ball games and writing to pen friends. Nancy Ann Aquirre Barrower 663 scat Muntin Lupa metro Manila Philippines
