Letters, packages to Airmen increases during holiday season

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Denise Johnson
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  Postal workers of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing here doubled their workload for this holiday season and expect to double it yet again in the coming weeks.

The holiday season for postal workers begins in the middle of November and generally goes through the middle of December.

"We're currently moving two and a half times the volume of our normal mail load," said Scott Vann, the 380th AEW Post Office site lead. "By the end of next week, it'll easily be three to four times more."

The post office here serves a smaller customer base than some of the larger bases in the area of responsibility, yet it handles one of the busiest mail routes in Southwest Asia, Mr. Vann said.

"We've handled nearly a million kilos of mail this year," said Oneris Barett, a postal contractor.

"It takes us at the most two hours to process our mail," said Scott Kirsch, custodian of postal affects and originally from Toledo, Ohio. "That's largely due to our volunteers from the 380th Fire and Emergency Services firefighters. They are our backbone."

Getting the mail in and out is more than a job to the yearlong assignees.

"We take our job to heart. Getting letters and packages to the 380th community as quickly and efficiently as possible means they're morale will be higher and they can focus on the mission," said Mr. Vann who hails from Dahlonega, Ga.

Some members who are on extended deployments have their mail forwarded to the deployed location. This allows them to handle personal finances as well as staying in touch with loved ones. The post office contractors offer services not typically found at other post offices, such as helping people package items, providing free packing materials and offering a touch of the holiday spirit to the desert atmosphere.

"We try and help people out," Mr. Kirsch said. "Just the other day we helped someone in the parking lot build a shipping crate for a large picture frame. It means so much to see the look on peoples' faces when they receive a hand-written letter or a box from home."

The 380th AEW postal service team's fast turn-around time and additional services don't go unnoticed by the customers nor the leadership here.

"Staying in touch with families, keeping up on personal business ... it's all a part of maintaining mental preparedness and well-being," said Chief Master Sgt. Kent Smith, the 380th AEW command chief. "If you're well mentally, it shows in your duty performance and in the success of the mission. Mail is an essential part of that well-being."

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