SDDC moves POVs as USS Ronald Reagan heads for California.

Sometime this May, the sailors of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan are headed for a new home.

The ship and its 6,000-member crew are changing their homeport berths from Norfolk, Va., to San Diego, Calif.

As the vessel maneuvers around the Drake Passage at the southernmost end of Chile and Argentina, the sailors will not have to worry about their privately owned vehicles. Their vehicles will be waiting for them when they reach California as a result of a special movement directed by the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command.

Some advance work for the move was done Dec. 2 by Dennis Barborek, one of SDDC's managers in the movement of privately owned vehicles.

Barborek met sailors at a Newport News, Va., transition meeting to explain the mechanics of SDDC's move of the vehicles.

"We want to make this process as painless as possible," said Barborek. "Our contractors have a 98 percent satisfaction rate over the past rive years.

"Rumors and misconceptions about severe auto damage during shipment is just that--rumors."

Petty Officer 1st Class Patricia Ann Miller, an 18-year Navy veteran was concerned about moving two vehicles and her household goods move.

"I just want to know how long can my auto stay in storage?" said Miller. "Are there any charges and is my property protected against damages during shipment?"

Another sailor with questions was Airman Xavier Garcia.

"The biggest thing for me about this whole move is being separated from my wife who is four-and a-half months pregnant," said Garcia. "Yes, I am concerned about my auto and household goods but it's the separation that troubles me most."

Garcia is married to Airman Jessica Mae Garcia who is scheduled to come to San Diego following the birth of their first child.

An original "Plank Owner" who was assigned to the ship at its July 12, 2003, commissioning, Garcia said he was concerned about the shipment of his two autos and household good.

"Will the government make two (POV) shipments," said Garcia. "If not, how much will it cost to make the second shipment and how does one go about making those arrangements?"

Barborek told both sailors they could only ship one privately owned vehicle at government expense.

The USS Ronald Reagan is the newest and most sophisticated nuclear-powered aircraft in the Navy. It was built by Northrop Grumman Newport News. An audience of 20,000 attended he vessel's commissioning ceremony.

The vessel is expected to be operational for 50 years.

By Maj. Wilmer Moore Public Affairs Officer SDDC Operations Center