ALEXANDRIA, Va. (USTCNS) --- Military service members going overseas will soon have a new benefit available.

Beginning as early as February, service members will have a standardized manner to store their privately owned vehicle.

Privately owned vehicles are not allowed in some assignment areas such as Japan and Korea.

Currently, storage is provided through a variety of contracts negotiated by different military installations.

In the future, a single contractor will manage the program, said Charlie Helfrich, chief of MTMC's Privately Owned Vehicle and Storage Branch.

"The storage program is in place now, but it's not uniform for the Department of Defense," said Charles Helfrich.

Currently, there are several methods for privately owned vehicle storage. At some installations, service members may request the storage via a letter of authorization from the local installation transportation officer. The service member pays a storage company to store the vehicle and is reimbursed by the government.

At other installations, transportation officers have contracted with a local storage company. In these cases, the vehicle is parked without charge to the service member.

"We want to have one contract for all of the Department of Defense," said Helfrich.

A request for proposals, he said, could be in the acquisition process by the end of the year.

MTMC has drawn up a list of considerations for the storage service, such as maintenance services recommended by auto manufacturers.

"We're going to tell them what we need, but we're not going to stipulate how to do it," said Helfrich.

Some of the manufacturer's recommendations, he said, include putting the vehicle on blocks, running the engine periodically and maintaining a trickle charge for the electronics, as required.

"We're not going to tell them (the contractor) where they have to store the vehicles," said Helfrich.

The contractor would be responsible for receiving the vehicle from the service member and delivering it upon return.

"I can't wait to get this contract going," said Helfrich.

The new storage provision is a result of an entitlement in the Defense Authorization Bill of 1997.

(FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)