Photo By Kristen Wong | Master Sgt. Mohammed Eyiowuawi talks about finance and postal operations to students...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - The Marine Corps Base Hawaii Post Office was abuzz with activity this week as Marines offered the use of their facility for the first time to an InterService Postal Training Activity, Soldier Support Institute class while simultaneously undergoing its annual inspection.
On April 15 and 16, 2015, 17 Soldiers from Schofield Barracks, two MCB Hawaii Marines and one MCB Okinawa Marine attended a portion of their F4 postal supervisor course at the MCB Hawaii Post Office.
A mobile training team from the IPTA, SSI, based out of Fort Jackson, S.C., arrived in Hawaii to teach two F5 postal operations courses, each four weeks long, and one F4 postal supervisor course that was two weeks long.
The Army’s 259th Human Resources Company, based out of Schofield Barracks, made the initial request for the instructors to provide the training in Hawaii.
Michael Gasque, the deputy director of IPTA, SSI said when the Army initially requested the training, the staff realized that because the other military services in Hawaii are in close proximity, the Marines could also attend the training.
Gasque said it is beneficial for the Soldiers to train at MCB Hawaii, so they can train in a “live facility,” and wouldn’t have been able to do so without the Marines’ help.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph Banks, the installation postal officer for the MCB Hawaii Post Office, explained the Marine Corps is the only branch that still has military occupational specialties in postal service. Additionally, Marines staff Marine Corps installation post offices throughout the continental U.S., overseas and on deployments. The Army provides postal training for its Soldiers as a secondary duty, for use only during deployments or overseas.
The F4 postal supervisor course is open to service members with the rank of E-5 or higher. Army Staff Sgt. Alex Casaretto, a postal instructor at IPTA, SSI, and native of Newark, N.J., said the course teaches the responsibilities of the military postal service, the duties of the custodian of postal effects, how to use the automated military postal system and how to inspect a post office.
Much of the training is conducted at Schofield Barracks, and students learn through slide presentations as well as hands-on activities. During the postal supervisor course, the students also visited the post office at the Honolulu International Airport to observe civilian postal operations.
While at MCB Hawaii, the students were divided into five groups to learn about different aspects of postal service, including finance, accountable mail, and receiving and dispatching mail. Students also observed the Marines as they helped customers at the front counter.
“Observing in this post office, a live post office, you can’t get any more real than that,” said Gunnery Sgt. Julia McMinn, postal lead instructor, IPTA, SSI, and native of Merrillville, Ind. “It’s definitely beneficial for them, and I know by the looks on their faces they are loving it because they get to take real notes with real answers maybe (they’ll learn) a little bit outside of the manuals because the manuals don’t cover everything so they get to leave here with a little bit more confidence than if they were to go to the mock post office that we set up at Fort Jackson.”
Master Sgt. Mohammed Eyiowuawi, the postal finance officer for Marine Corps Installations Pacific, was visiting MCB Hawaii at the same time for the base post office’s annual inspection. Additionally, he shared knowledge with the Marines and Soldiers in the course about finance in postal operations.
“(The course) enhances the mail process, customer service and functionality of equipment,” said Eyiowuawi, who hails from Stafford, Va.
Staff Sgt. Shawn Coleman, the operations chief at the base post office was one of the three Marines attending the course. The native of Bethpage, N.Y., said the course would be beneficial for Marines who were planning to make the Corps a career, and continue in the postal field.
“It afforded me the opportunity to enhance my career progression,” Coleman said.
Army Sgt. Joshua McHam, a human resources sergeant with 259 HRC, took the F5 postal operations course prior to the current course.
“It’s a lot of information in a short period of time,” said the native of Fort Worth, Texas. “The instructors are great though, they make sure and get you all (the) information that you need.”
McHam made sure to take notes so he could refer back to them later. Through the class, he said he was able to learn how Marines operate in postal service, which differs from the Army.
In addition to the Marine and Army standard, the students in the class learned the Department of Defense standard of postal operations, according to Staff Sgt. Mario Lute, the postal supply chief for Consolidated Postal Systems at MCB Okinawa. Lute, of Lake Charles, La., came from Okinawa to attend the postal supervisor course and occasionally provide assistance for Eyiowuawi.
Lute said though it was challenging to keep an open mind to the DoD standard for postal operations, which differs from the Corps, there were some aspects of DoD standards he found useful to take back to his unit.
“It was great to see things from a DoD perspective, to see how other branches operate,” Lute said.
Gasque added this was a “good way to get a large number of their personnel trained at a relatively low cost.” For example, the institute could pay to send two instructors to Hawaii to train 60 service members, instead of commands paying for 60 service members to travel to South Carolina for training. In addition, he said having the instructors come out to the installations reduces the need for service members to leave their families for extended periods of time training.
“It’s allowing all the military personnel more time at home,” Gasque said. “They’re training during the day but going home at night.”
The institute’s mobile training teams annually train an average of 180 personnel at six sites.
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2015 16:10 |
| Story ID: | 160385 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US |
| Hometown: | BETHPAGE, NY, US |
| Hometown: | FORT WORTH, TX, US |
| Hometown: | LAKE CHARLES, LA, US |
| Hometown: | MERRILLVILLE, IN, US |
| Hometown: | NEWARK, NJ, US |
| Hometown: | STAFFORD, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 412 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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