Nothing Stops the Mail

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Melgar | 200508-N-XX200-1023 NAVAL BASE GUAM (MAY 8, 2020) – U.S. Navy Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Desmond Hall, from Stuttgart, Germany, organizes incoming mail in the mail room aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) May 8, 2020. Theodore Roosevelt's COVID-negative crew returned from quarantine beginning on April 29 and is making preparations to return to sea to continue their scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Erik Melgar)    

GUAM

05.16.2020

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Pyoung Yi 

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)     

NAVAL BASE GUAM (May 16, 2020) – More than half of the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt as the embarked staffs have completed their quarantine in various hotels throughout Guam and are back on board the ship. For the past two weeks, the crew has been starting up shipboard systems and re-opening many of the services on board as they prepare to go back to sea.

One of these services resuming is Theodore Roosevelt’s post office. Since arriving in Guam on March 27, Theodore Roosevelt has received approximately 12 tons of mail. Theodore Roosevelt’s post office staff has a plan in place to distribute all of it.

After holding the mail for approximately six weeks, Theodore Roosevelt has enough qualified mail handlers on board to resume normal mail service. That, and other ship’s services resuming normal operations sends a message to the crew, and the world, that the ship is ready to resume its deployment to the Indo-Pacific, projecting power in the U.S. 7th Fleet once again.

“With postal operations back online, our ship can continue its mission no matter the duration, with continual support from home to always be ready for the fight when the fight comes,” said Logistics Specialist 1st Class Andrew Grace, leading petty officer of Theodore Roosevelt’s supply (S-1) division. “Sailors have had packages sent to them which gives them a small piece of home that texts, phone calls, or even video calls cannot. It's that physical aspect from home that gives some the mindset of continuing this deployment in its darkest hours.”

Although many Theodore Roosevelt Sailors are half a world away from their loved ones, these personalized items help give Sailors a healthier work-life balance and boost their psychological and emotional states.

“I sometimes get butterflies in my stomach,” said Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Desmond Hall, Theodore Roosevelt’s postal financial supervisor. “I received a care package from one of my old friends who I grew up with back in Germany when I was a teenager, and he put all of my favorite German snacks and other foods in the box. It shows that someone cares about you and is rooting for you.”

Shipping mail to a floating warship is no easy task. The United States Postal Service (USPS) sends Theodore Roosevelt’s mail to a fleet mail center warehouse on Naval Base Guam, where the boxes containing the mail are sprayed with disinfectant and set in the sun to disinfect for 72 hours, according to Grace.

“The mail then gets transported to the ship, where it’ll sit for a day in the hangar bay before it is opened,” said Grace.

Although Theodore Roosevelt has enough personnel to handle the mail, some of the ship’s postal workers have not returned yet. Hall has been working longer shifts to ensure the work gets done.

“I am working about an extra four hours a day, 12 to 13 hours total,” said Hall. “I’m learning to manage my time because I know how important mail is to people.”

Hall and the ship’s other mail orderlies must follow strict protocol when handling the mail to ensure that each package receives its intended recipient.

Before being handed out, crew members’ mail is staged in the hangar bay where Sailors scan each package or letter as it is removed from a tri-wall (a large three-walled cardboard box full of mail). Mail orderlies collect the mail for the Sailors in their division while a retrograde team collects mail trash and an administration team handles mail with improper labeling, ensuring it goes to the intended recipient.

“From an outsider’s perspective, it may look like a bunch of ants in chaos,” said Hall, “but there’s an organized system behind it.”

Although Theodore Roosevelt crew members may have been waiting a
while for a package, they can rest assured that the ship’s supply division is working around the clock in an orderly manner to deliver every package, letter and post card.

Theodore Roosevelt’s COVID negative crew returned from quarantine beginning on April 29 and is making preparations to return to sea to continue their scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

For more news from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn71/

• Date Taken: 05.16.2020
• Date Posted: 05.17.2020 20:47
• Story ID: 370172
• Location: GU