Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Ryan Parker, 795th Adjutant General Company postal-qualified mechanic, drops a...... read more read more
SGT RACHEL BRUNE
101ST SUSTAINMENT BDE
4 NOVEMBER 2005
LSA DIAMONDBACK, Iraq, Nov. 4 -- Late one night, a family member writes a letter to a Soldier serving in the northwest corner of Iraq.
The next morning, the family member posts the letter. It travels to a plane where it joins thousands of pounds of mail headed for the Middle East.
The plane with its load of morale touches down at Mosul Airfield, and the 795th Adjutant General Company (Postal), motto "We Deploy," goes to work.
"We're firm believers that Soldiers should get their mail," said 2nd Lt. Emily Day, third platoon leader. "It's a huge morale thing."
The night shift breaks down the mail, sorting it into containers to travel to the outlying forward operating bases, or into bins for units on Diamondback, according to Day.
One of the accomplishments the Belton, Mo., unit has achieved is establishing a permanent postal presence on Q-West Base Complex, according to Day. In an estimated one month's time, the unit hopes to begin sending mail to Q-West on a daily basis.
"We don't want this mail sitting in a container," said Day, referring to the military storage containers.
During a break during a Soldier's day at Diamondback, she writes a letter and puts it into a care package to send some souvenirs home to her family. At the 795th AG post office window, Spc. Stacy Peak, a postal clerk from Excelsior Springs, Mo., takes the package.
The post office searches the box, makes sure the customs form is filled out correctly and seals and weighs the box. The Soldier pays for the postage, and the package home is on its way.
"We search everything," said Day. The non-mailable items list changes, and Soldiers should check with their local post offices or unit mail rooms to see the latest information on what they are allowed to send home through the mail.
The postal lobby offers parcel service, special services such as insured, certified and registered mail, money orders and stamps.
The postal unit also deals with packages and letters sent through the military postal system, or MPS. The unit sees a lot of MPS traffic, especially if someone is moving, according to Spc. Sarah Simpson, a postal clerk from Wichita, Kan.
Simpson was cross-leveled from the 511th Adjutant General Company for the deployment. She works in the re-direct section, forwarding mail that has been sent to the Soldiers who have moved or re-deployed and keeping track of incoming and outgoing units.
"Everybody just does everything out here," said Sgt. Amie Nelson, postal sergeant. Nelson, who previously deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom I, said she sees many differences between the deployments.
Soldiers no longer sleep in tents or on cots, the chow hall food is better and the unit works in a hard building. Nelson said: "It makes a big difference."
"We don't joke when we say, 'We deploy,'" said Day. The noncommissioned officers of the platoon have 26 deployments among them.
Staff Sgt. Daryl Brandt, custodian of personal effects, from Grandview, Mo., is on his fifth deployment. He is in charge of all money and regulations in the post office and serves as the day shift NCOIC.
About 50 percent of the unit is composed of veterans, said Brandt.
"It's one big family," said Brandt. "That's why people stay in."
During the two months the unit has been in country, the Soldiers have steadily improved their work area, according to Day. Some of the renovations include re-doing the lobby area and filling in several gaping holes on the warehouse floor, some of which were ankle deep.
In addition, the unit works with the 94th Engineer Company to build four loading docks so the Soldiers can work inside, away from the elements, especially as the nights get colder.
"My main goal is to get my people out of the cold," said Day. In addition, the improvements are designed to make the process more efficient and speed up the flow of mail.
Day believes that her Soldiers are motivated to come on the job every day knowing that Soldiers are counting on them to keep them in touch with their families at home.
"It's a pretty good group to work with," said Brandt. USAR
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2005 17:37 |
| Story ID: | 3766 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 193 |
| Downloads: | 24 |
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