Vol. 48, No. 11, September ber 2019
Serving the Greater Stuttgart Military Community
www.stuttgartcitizen.com
Photos by Reynaldo Ramon, 7th Army Training Command
The U.S. Army Europe Band and Chorus perform a concert on the lawn on Patch Barracks' Washington Square, Aug. 28. The show was live-streamed by AFN Stuttgart and is available online. Below left, the Stuttgart High drum line takes the stage.
Well-received vehicle registration improvements help during PCS season Story and photos by Rick Scavetta USAG Stuttgart Public Affairs
This summer, when Pfc. Maxwell Mattingly bought a 1989 Land Rover in
Pfc. Maxwell Mattingly, 100th MWD, afixes his new license plates outside of the garrison's Vehicle Registration Office. Recent improvements to the vehicle registration process help keep troops like Mattingly, a military working dog handler, mission focused.
Grafenwöhr, registering it with USAG Stuttgart was a priority. Mattingly, 20, of Fort Worth, Texas, received only a 30-day registration at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria for the British-built all-wheel drive vehicle. A dog handler with the 100th Military Working Dog Detachment, Mattingly seldom has time for errands. “I’m actually fairly busy all the time. We basically work all day from sun up to sun down,” Mattingly said recently outside vehicle registration on Panzer Kaserne, while removing his old plates. “Today, I just happened to have some time off.” Heading inside, Mattingly hoped for the best. Automatic doors opened to a well-lit area, with a couple rows of empty chairs. Inside, Sean Bentz, a vehicle registration clerk, greeted Mattingly with a smile, a clipboard and a few questions. Before long, he was on his way. “With the time I have, it’s pretty necessary that I have a smooth process, so I don’t have to come back another day and maybe impede on some of the mission requirements I already have,” Mattingly said. That’s a lot different than a year ago.
In August 2018, Stars & Stripes reported on troops arriving before dawn for walkin appointments, only to find 20 people ahead of them – some who had camped overnight for a place in line. The cause–swells of newcomers taking appointments coupled with people returning to re-register during the peak Permanent Change of Station, or PCS, season, garrison officials said. Those days were as stressful for staff as they were for customers, said Margarete Mueller, who’s worked at vehicle registration for the past four years. Garrison staff identified needed improvements and set a plan in motion to make things better. Office renovations, incorporating inspections nearby and upgrading computer, internet and credit card machines were priorities. Service members now augment the staff and customers can use a mobile phone app to set appointments. That’s made a big difference, Mueller said. “It’s way better, brighter and bigger and it’s not as noisy as it was before,” Mueller said. Marines and Soldiers work alongside U.S. and German civilians. They
have fun and support each other, even during a rush. The office has roughly twice as many staff, to include active duty and Reserve troops, compared to last autumn, said Bardia Khajenoori, an analyst with garrison’s office of plans, analysis, and integration, who’s been following the See VEHICLE, p.4
Marine Lance Cpl. Alize Bollinger, right, asks a question of Army Sgt. 1st Class Pablo Escebedo, while Magarete Mueller inputs a new registration into her computer at U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart.