Photo By Sgt. Christopher Jones | CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait --- After packages exit the X-ray machine, a Combat Support...... read more read more
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by Sgt. Chris Jones
Desert Voice Staff Writer
40th Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (October 25, 2006) --- The Joint Military Mail Terminal-Kuwait is gearing up for, by far, its busiest two months of the year, the time when servicemembers are sending and receiving packages for the holiday season.
The staff at the JMMT-K at Camp Arifjan is taking steps to ensure the mail process doesn't miss a beat during November and early December.
According to statistics provided by the JMMT-K, approximately 2.5 million pounds of mail was sent to servicemembers in the JMMT-K area of operations last November, and more than 3 million pounds was sent home by servicemembers.
One of the first things the Soldiers, contractors and DoD civilians at JMMT-K are doing to get ready for this influx in mail is, simply, preparing to work some long hours. With unwavering resolve to process mail on the day it arrives, the staff knows there will be plenty of overtime involved.
"Whenever the volume of mail increases, we do work longer hours," said Allen Watson, branch manager of JMMT-K. "We're ready to work long hours, because it's the [holidays], and those Soldiers want their packages."
Watson, an Air Force retiree who had deployed to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, said his prior military experience gives him understanding as to how deployed servicemembers feel when they receive mail, especially during the holidays.
"I know what it feels like to be deployed and get mail," Watson said. "You're on camp all the time...and then you get a package in the mail – it's such a morale boost."
Where does this mail go? The JMMT-K processes mail coming in and out of every camp in Kuwait, as well as a few in Southern Iraq – Camp Delta, Camp Adder and Camp Bucca. Altogether, the facility manages a total of 10 post offices in the region.
The JMMT-K is the focal point for all mail in the region. After it is processed, outgoing mail heads to Bahrain (the main hub for the Central Command area of operations), then to the U.S., while incoming mail is shipped off to Kuwait and Southern Iraq.
"We're basically a hub, a distribution center," said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Arrington, JMMT-K noncommissioned officer in charge and member of the 3rd Personnel Command, which recently relieved the 1st Personnel Command.
A Soldier in the Army Reserve who back home works at a similar civilian mail hub in Asheville, N.C., Arrington said his role in Kuwait is to assist the contractors at the JMMT-K in any way he can.
"[The contractors] are in charge, we Soldiers are here to make their life easier," said Arrington.
Another role the military plays at the JMMT-K is to send distribution reports to camps in Kuwait and southern Iraq to let the post offices know how much mail they should expect to arrive.
Every piece of mail that goes through the JMMT-K goes through a high-tech X-ray system. With this particular X-ray, every once in a while the computer will show a picture of a weapon or another illegal item that isn't really in the package, and it is the operator's job to identify it. These images are preloaded in the computer and appear from time to time.
"The computer plays those little tricks; it helps keep the operator alert," said Maj. Sharon Weston, JMMT-K officer-in-charge. "It's a way to keep the operator fresh, and make sure he's seeing what he needs to be seeing."
After the inspections, mail is packaged by Kellogg, Brown and Root and distributed by contractors from Public Warehousing Company. PBC faces a dangerous job, as three of the camps they deliver to involve crossing the Iraqi border.
Another job of the JMMT-K is to keep an updated roster of units in Iraq and Kuwait, so mail can automatically be forwarded to the Soldiers, if their unit relocates.
As the holiday season approaches, the JMMT-K is gearing up for a hefty workload – but it's the kind of work that couldn't be any more rewarding, said Arrington, who spent four years active duty with the 101st Airborne Division, before heading to the Army Reserve.
"Just today, I got a letter from my work buddies back home," said Arrington. "That means a lot."
As for Watson, who has now worked in Kuwait for six years, he recalled when the Iraq war began. He and other civilian contractors were given the option of going back to the U.S. He stayed put, and he hasn't thought about going home since.
"I have a passion for mail," said Watson. "I got that passion from my time in the military, and now that I'm on the other side, it feels good to help."
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2006 11:18 |
| Story ID: | 8153 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 308 |
| Downloads: | 103 |
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