Chesapeake Region
Across The Atlantic
Aaron Miller
Across the Atlantic But First, We Have to Get There - Words and images by Aaron Miller Grüße aus Stuttgart! In my inaugural article as Chesapeake Region’s European correspondent, I thought I would start by framing just how different, and difficult in some ways, it is to be an American in Stuttgart. I’m fortunate to be an American soldier, and therefore reap the benefits from decades of experience working with the Germans to accommodate U.S. service members temporarily residing in Germany. What that means in a practical sense is there are rules, many rules, which either have an exception, exemption, or a separate process for Americans under military orders. In our break-neck schedule to pack up our entire home, sell our house, and physically move to Germany, we missed a few minor but critical steps. Luckily, so far it doesn’t appear that we caused any permanent problems and we’re tantalizingly close to getting to motor around Germany in our Porsches. But first, we had to get there. On a gray but humid day in early June, we dropped off our 996 C4S to the Vehicle Processing Center (VPC) in Baltimore for shipping at Government expense to Boeblingen, Germany, a suburb outside of Stuttgart. The process was straightforward if at a relaxed pace. The VPC processes vehicles for shipment worldwide to other VPCs for Federal employees from every Agency under the sun. In a sea of minivans and pocket SUVs bound for Honolulu and Hanoi, our 911 stood out. The process starts with a cleanliness inspection of the exterior, interior, and trunk compartments. Naturally, I was filled with mirth when I popped the frunk and the technician told me he didn’t need to see the engine, just the trunk. Following years of complaints of “Where is my vehicle?!?” The contractor operating the VPCs developed an app to allow customers to track in broad terms the location of their vehicle. I made it a daily ritual to check the status of our shipment and I excitedly sent a message to many of our friends when the car was listed as “Ocean - Active” and “Vehicle Arrived at Port.” In typical bureaucratic fashion, the job got done but far from quickly. As of this writing, our car appears to still be on the ship, pending transfer to a truck to finish the journey to Stuttgart.
Photo credit: Ron Farb
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