European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 1, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Goodbye Europe hello headaches by Chuck Vinch t a a Washington Bureau t to a a when a crop of 23 soldiers returning from Europe was dropped off at the transition Center Here recently it was found that four of them had potential paperwork problems that could have delayed their transition to civilian life. For the transition Center staff that came As a Relief. The staffs attitude is that even one Soldier with paperwork snafus is too Many. But considering the Center s recent experience with the summer draw Down crunch from Europe any Day in which less than one fifth of arriving troops Are flagged is a Good one. A it Wasny to that Long ago that we would get 200 troops coming in and 100 of them would have some kind of problem a said maj. Susan Meyer commander of the transition Center that serves As the principal . Processing station for troops returning from Europe. At the Peak of the summer reassignment season More than 350 troops a month were being held Over at the Center for actions that should have been completed before they left Europe. One of the biggest headaches for the Center has been troops who failed to take a physical exam or failed to sign a waiver of the exam before leaving Europe. Other soldiers have shown up without their personnel files or other critical paperwork. And in a number of heartbreaking cases some soldiers who thought they had been approved for the army a voluntary Early release program or one of the two voluntary separation pay plans Nave been found to be ineligible after arriving at the Center. A a it a really Tough to Tell someone who was counting on getting $20,000 that it Isnit going to happen a said sgt. Maj. James Meriwether the transition Center sergeant major. Its even More difficult to Deal with soldiers who thought they had been approved for voluntary Early release but actually Are so far from the time in service requirements that the transition Center has to reassign them for another tour. A we have a hard time convincing those people that the army is looking out for them a Meyer said. The transition Center staff and some of the affected soldiers say the accelerated draw Down in Europe is to blame for Many of the problems. A a it a the draw Down turmoil a Meriwether said. A with All the unit deactivation and base closures a lot of people just Arentt getting processed As might be expected some of the troops Are bitter. A they need some help Over there a said pfc. Andrew Fisher an artillerymen formerly assigned to Fulda Ger getting through fort Dix soldiers returning from Europe and leaving the army during the draw Down can help make their stay at the fort Dix transition Center Brief and painless if they follow a few Basic rules according to the Center s staff. Here Are some key items a have your 201 personnel file and your medical and dental records with you. A have your finance records if they re available. A before leaving Europe be sure to get a physical exam or arrange for a signed waiver of the exam. Otherwise prepare for a seven to 10-Day stay in new Jersey. Officials advise against waiving the physical because of its importance in later life As a record of medical conditions that originated during military service. That advice particularly goes for soldiers who fought in the persian Gulf War officials said a above i Don t be afraid to ask questions throughout the process and that includes before you leave Europe. A Chuck Vinch Many. A they know you re headed Back to the states and you feel like All they want to do is get you out of their hair a Fisher said. A no one really tells you what a expected of a i feel like in be been to hell and Back a said spec. Donna Scott a Supply clerk formerly stationed in Katterbach Germany. Scott said she found it difficult to leave her Post in Germany because the places she had to Clear during her out processing there were often a staffed. A the people i needed to Clear me hardly Ever scented to be in she said. A was still trying to finish Clearing on the morning i was due to leave. And no one told me anything about what to expect Here at fort Scott who was travelling with her two Young children faces a Short term Money crunch because of incorrect information Given by her personnel office in Germany. Personnel officials in Europe failed to realize that because she is on terminal leave she cannot be reimbursed for stateside temporary lodging expenses until that leave ends. A so now i wont Sec that Money for weeks a she said. A if 1 had known that i would have budgeted my Money Meyer said the kinds of problems that have been popping tip at the transition Center since the draw Down began Are not new. A there have always been processing errors like this a she said. A a it a just that they re intensified by the draw Down. A i done to think people in Europe arc deliberately not helping soldiers out process a she said. A but units arc disappearing so fast you re Lucky to find a personnel services company that seven open. There arc soldiers who done to even know who they belong the situation is complicated by the fact that commanders must balance the needs of their units with the needs of individual soldiers Meyer said. A again i done to think there a any deliberate Effort to screw things up for the departing soldiers. But at the same time in a not sure the units Over there understand How out processing problems particularly Lack of physicals can affect soldiers on this Meyer and her staff Are trying to sensitize the army in Europe to the situation. She has made two trips to Germany most recently in August and has briefed Gen. David m. Maddox the commander of the . Army Europe. A i think he was surprised at How bad it was a Meyer said. A but he was very upbeat and positive about fixing things. And if its important to the cinc commander in chief Usa eur it will be important to the people who work for keeping in closer communication with army officials in Europe about the number of troops coming to the Center will help Meyer said. A now Usa eur sends us information every Day so we can get a jump on things before the soldiers arrive a she said. A before we would get one hours notice that it Lane from Europe had landed in Philadelphia and Diers were confine a Sot _ the Center in turn reports to Europe at least once a month to show officials there How Many and what kinds of problems arc showing up. As it turned out the four soldiers who were flagged had their problems easily resolved an indication that the situation seems to be improving. Quot there have been some positive signs lately Quot Meyer said a but its hard to say for sure because we re in a Lull right now. The summer Rush is Over and it wont pick up again until the holidays. That will be the next , Fri to be among fort Dix s tenants by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau fort Dix . A these Days this sprawling 32,000-acre Post where millions of raw recruits marched Sang cadence Calls and sweated through push on their Way to becoming soldiers is now a veritable ghost town. Its vastness Only accentuates the eerie emptiness. Motor pools Are vacant firing ranges lie silent and family housing areas look As though their inhabitants fled some impending natural disaster. But even though a proud tradition of 75 years of army Basic training ended when the last recruit class graduated oct. 1, there will be no shortage of uniforms around fort Dix in the near future. By mid january the Federal Bureau of prisons will House about 3,200 convicts almost All of them nonviolent White Collar criminals in what will be the largest Low Security facility in the . Prison system. A we have a severe overcrowding problem in the prison system Vith our Low Security inmates said Tommy Harris tote bureaus associate Warden for operations. A fort Dix presented an excellent Opportunity to alleviate that problem at minimal Cost to the much to the Relief of local civilian communities the Federal Bureau of prisons is not the Only tenant to show an interest in taking Over some of the Post s facilities that have come open since its Basic training Mission ended. Among the others. A the Fri has turned several buildings into administrative offices and also will use the Post for firearms training for its agents. A the new Jersey National guard Bureau and the new Jersey department of military and veterans affairs Are planning a tentative move from Trenton to fort Dix. F ,. A the new Jersey department of Law and Public safety will take Over at least four buildings at the Post sure it s easy to got nostalgic. Butts Havisto Kosp it in a Causa there Are new challenges Diane Felder base spokeswoman and will conduct All of its training there including training of state police. Ethe . Department of health and human services is interested in taking Over Sheridan Villa a former family housing area and using it to House elderly homeless and Low income citizens. The other military services Are also staking claims on the Post s wide open spaces. Several naval Reserve and Marine corps units have moved in. The air Force longtime tenants of next door Mcguire fab has taken Over numerous housing units and several buildings. The 35-member coast guard Atlantic strike team one of three such teams that helps Federal agencies with pollution control and cleanup efforts has been at fort Dix for More than a year. In addition Pentagon officials continue to study the possibility of using the Post to train . Peacekeeping forces an idea floated by president Bush in a recent speech. Despite the influx of new tenants the army is hardly ing Center for some soldiers leaving the army. Dix also will become a major army Reserve and National abandoning fort Dix. The Post is the final out process t. By acc a guard training Hub for the Northeast and Midwest. Instead of individual Active duty recruits entire Reserve units will use the posts 55 ranges and other training facilities on weekends and during the units annual two week Call . A where we used to train soldiers we now provide the resources so that units can train a said col. Michael Warner fort Dix commander in a recent interview with the Post newspaper. Basic training began at Camp Dix As it was called then in 1917 As . Doughboy prepared to ship out for Europe to fight in world War 1. The Post sustained that Mission through five wars 3 million trainees and three quarters of a Century. Its epitaph As an Active duty facility was written by the 1991 base closure and realignment commission which reaffirmed an earlier decision that fort Dix should be reduced to a status and its recruit training Mission shifted to other bases. The number of military personnel assigned to fort Dix has dropped from almost 3,500 in 1988 to slightly More than 1,000 today. That number will drop next year to 429. The number of full time civilian employees also has plummeted from 4,000 a few years ago to under 900 today. The end of the Basic training Mission has dealt a harsh blow to the local Economy. Surrounding Burlington county a mostly Blue Collar enclave in South Central new Jersey already has been hard hit by the nationwide recession. County officials estimate that when the Post was at full capacity for its Basic training Mission it pumped More than half a billion dollars a year into the local Economy. A from that standpoint we wish it Hadnot been necessary to shut Down Quot said base spokeswoman Diane Felder a but we re optimistic that the tenants coming in will be a renewed source of financial support for the local Many longtime base employees recently have become nostalgic about the tumultuous changes. A sure its easy to get nostalgic Quot said Felder who has been at fort Dix for 12 years. A but we have to keep it in perspective because there Are new challenges now. We have to live in the present and look to the
