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A care package, usually filled with small inexpensive items like bags of chips, candy or soap, and more sentimental items: letters from loved ones, drawings from kids or pictures of family. From the outside looking in, these things may seem insignificant, but for the deployed men and woman aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) these small things make a huge difference. These care packages full of joy and morale-boosting items only have one way of getting to the ship, the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Bataan is outfitted with a fully operational post office that allows service members the full gambit of postal services with the exception of money orders and passport services.
The normal process of delivering mail is a large logistical undertaking and getting that same mail out into the middle of the ocean is an even more complicated task. “The process to get mail to the ship requires many man hours,” said Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Ricardo Vazquez. “It’s shipped from the post office to a military facility where they sort it to be shipped to the different fleets around the world.”
The morale boost of receiving mail is significant for Sailors and Marines, but getting to give the mail is uplifting for the postal clerks as well. “I consider myself to be the real Santa Claus,” said Sgt. Jerusa Argueta, assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. “I have been doing this for many years and the one thing that never gets old is the smiles that I bring to everyone. I take extreme pride in giving good customer service.”
Much of Battan’s supply department’s work is done behind the scenes, so the post office is a place where customer service can shine through. “I love being in the post office. I am able to directly interact with the people that we service,” said Vazquez. “In [the] supply department we do not have many positions where we deal with customer service.”
The post office is a critical part of the Bataan team that will continue to serve the crew and raise the spirts of those who serve onboard. “I think it is important that people receive mail because it is such a boost to morale,” said Cpl. Cameron Avila, assigned to the 26th MEU. “When people receive mail whether it is letters or snacks it shows that people back home care for you.”
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2020 01:25 |
| Story ID: | 361666 |
| Location: | GULF OF ADEN |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Thank A Mail Carrier Day, by PO3 Alan Robertson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
