Friday, June 8, 2018 Volume 11, Issue 22 Published for members of the SHAPE/Chièvres, Brussels and Schinnen communities Benelux News Briefs Change of Command Colonel Kurt P. Connell will re- linquish command to Col. Sean H. Kuester June 29 at 10 a.m. in front of the Headquarters Bldg. at Caserne Daumerie. Grand opening The SHAPE dog park hosts its grand opening June 15 at 2 p.m. in the 600 area. Independence Day The SHAPE/Chievres Fourth of July celebration will be held June 29 beginning at noon in the SHAPE tent. Brussels will host July 4 celebrations June 29 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the 3-Star Recreation Center. Schin- nen will celebrate Independence Day July 4 beginning at 4 p.m. at the Outdoor Recreation Center. Volunteers needed MWR is in need of volunteers to assist with the World Cup Match event - Belgium vs. England - June 28 at the SHAPE fest tent. Visit the Chièvres MWR website to sign up. Fitness instructors needed The SHAPE Sports and Fitness Center is looking for volunteer and freelance fitness instructors. Contact DSN 423-5325 for more information. Table of Contents Benelux reflects on Memorial Day News..............................2-5 The U.S. Army Garrison Benelux Color Guard stands in the heart of the Mardasson Memorial during the Memorial Inside the Gate.............6-9 Day ceremony held in Bastogne June 2, 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Julie Piron) Outside the Gate..........10-12 See Page 4 June 8, 2018 Know before you go: Army Customs Agency outlines PCS strategies Upcoming elections It is the middle of peak PCS season, By Robert Szostek where 65% of all military moves occur. U.S. Army Customs Agency - Europe Regardless of where you are in the world, People scheduled to move to the U.S. this summer should start prepar- it is important to know there are people ing now by separating things that are banned from import and finding new and resources available to assist you with homes for them. the absentee voting process. Below are It is also a good idea to apply early for import permits on restricted items, the election dates for June to August. customs officials advise. • June 12: Maine, Nevada, North Da- “Prohibited items include meat and kota, South Carolina, Virginia meat products such as sausage, pâté • June 19: Arkansas, District of Columbia and salami, as well as plants, plant • June 26: Colorado, Maryland, Okla- products and all destructive devices,” homa, South Carolina, Utah said Tim Sellman, director of the U.S. • June 30: Texas 27th Congressional European Command’s Customs and District Special Election Border Clearance Agency. • July 17: Alabama Explosive caps, tear gas projectiles, • July 24: Georgia artillery simulators, fireworks, etc. are • August 2: Tennessee examples of destructive devices, he • August 4: Virgin Islands added. • August 7: Ohio 12th Congressional “If you’re planning on shipping fire- District Special General arms, ensure you have proof that you owned them in the States or have an • August 7: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, import permit,” he went on. Washington Sellman also explained that other important points to remember are: • August 11: Hawaii • Owners of vehicles not made to U.S. standards have to ship them through • August 14: Connecticut, Minnesota, commercial importers registered with the Department of Transportation Vermont, Wisconsin and Environmental Protection Agency. However, vehicles more than 25 • August 21: Alaska, Wyoming; years old are exempt from this rule. • August 25: Guam • Most mopeds and motorcycles must also meet U.S. safety and pollution • August 28: Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma standards, and all vehicles must be free of dirt, insects and vegetation. People who wish to participate in these • Wine collections can only be shipped with advance approval from the elections should verify their voting status transportation office. with their unit voting assistance officers. • Endangered species items such as ivory and some furs may only be Some states require annual updates to shipped if owners can prove they were previously owned in the U.S., or voter's registration to participate with an are antiques over 100 years old. absentee ballot. For more information, • State attorneys general must approve imports of gambling devices. contact the Voting Assistance Officer These devices must be registered with the Justice Department in Wash- for USAG Benelux, at DSN 366-6192 or ington, D.C. +32(0)65-32-6192 or visit the Federal For more information, stop by your local military customs office or check Voting Assistance Program website at: out the military customs website at www.eur.army.mil/opm/customs/us- www.fvap.gov. u customs.htm. u To submit or subscribe, email [email protected] The Gazette is an unofficial publication published under the provisions of AR 360-1 for members of the Commander....................Col. Kurt Connell Department of Defense. Contents of The Gazette are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of the Army or the USAG Benelux. The Gazette is a free weekly publication Public Affairs Officer.....Marie-Lise Baneton distributed via email every Thursday, except when that day is an American, Belgian or Dutch Holiday, then The Gazette is published on Wednesday. The editorial content of this publication is prepared, edited, provided, Editor.............................Kristin Ellis approved and published by the USAG Benelux Public Affairs Office, Unit 21419, APO AE 09708. Telephone (0032) 068-275419/DSN 361-5419. Everything advertised in this publication will be made available for purchase, Staff Writers..................Rita Hoefnagels use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, Christophe Morel political affiliation or any other non-merit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. If a violation or rejection of this Julie Piron equal opportunity policy by an advertiser is confirmed, the publisher will refuse to print advertising from that Jessica Ryan source until the violation is corrected. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement of the products or services advertised by the U.S. Army. Submit content or story ideas to [email protected] by Monday at 3 p.m. [2] June 8, 2018 Benelux community reflects on Memorial Day By Marie-Lise Baneton USAG Benelux Public Affairs During the recent Memorial Day com- memorations in Belgium and The Neth- erlands, American servicemembers of the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux and the larger U.S. military community in the garrison’s footprint stood silently at cemeteries and in Bastogne, proudly representing the United States, and those who died to preserve freedom and liberty around the world. The places where those lie are solemn and reverent, designed to pay tribute to the men and women of the United States who traveled to a foreign coun- try to take part in two world wars and ended up making the ultimate sacrifice. In Bastogne, the Mardasson Memorial provided an equally solemn and rever- ent venue to honor those sacrifices. U.S. and Belgian military and civilian officials joined the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux color guard, Belgian The numbers of casualties speak for veterans and students from the American University in Brussels during the Memorial Day celebration in themselves. Overall, almost 125,000 Bastogne, June 2, 2018. (U.S. Army Photo by Julie Piron) Americans remain in cemeteries on place to thousands of servicemembers, May 27. foreign soil. They fell in a number of including Gen. George Patton, Jr. The staffs at all cemeteries try to put different conflicts and lie in cemeteries Each site has its own story, just as a face on every Soldier. When possible, across Europe, Africa and the Pacific. each has its own layout, but they all they contact the families back home to Five American cemeteries are located share the common goal of providing hol- get their stories or even pictures and in the Benelux and are lowed grounds to pay tribute when visitors stop by their information not only a lasting me- to the thousands of Soldiers, centers, superintendents and their staff morial to the men and Sailors, Marines and Airmen members make every effort to escort women who rest here, who fell in battle and remain them to the grounds, telling individual but they are also a link in foreign land today. stories and explaining facts behind the that binds the military The people behind those construction of the cemeteries. of today to the military graves are what really makes “In all, over four million Americans of yesterday and a link the picture and though Flan- served in World War I. Amidst the hor- that binds Americans to ders Field is the smallest rors of war, more than 116,000 made Belgians and Dutch alike. in size with 368 graves, at- the ultimate sacrifice and tens of thou- In Belgium alone, there tendees of the Memorial Day sands are buried in American military are three cemeteries. ceremony there were moved cemeteries throughout Europe,” Bareihs Flanders Field contains by the significance of this explained. the remains of World War year’s event. The general went on, quoting Pvt. I casualties whereas the U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Dieter Ba- reihs, Director of Plans, Programs “This Memorial Day is es- Martin August Treptow who was one Ardennes and Henri-Cha- and Analysis for Headquarters pecially meaningful as 2018 of them. The son of German immigrants pelle military cemeteries U.S. Air Forces in Europe and marks the Centennial of the and a U.S. Soldier in World War I, he provide a resting place Air Forces Africa, pays tribute to end of World War I,” said U.S.