Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wyatt | M915A2 trucks from the 6966 Truck Transportation Terminal (TTT) parked and prepared...... read more read more
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By 1st Lt. Craig Day
39th Transportation Battalion
WACKERNHEIM, Germany – In October 2014, the 51st Transportation Company, 39th Transportation Battalion took mission command of U.S. Army Europe’s mail mission.
Centralized in Wackernheim, the 39th Trans. Batt., has been providing truck commanders to serve alongside local nationals in this mission for the past several months. Even though 51st TC recently got involved with the mail mission, it is by no means a new operation.
In August 2014, the 39th Trans. Batt., in conjunction with the 6966 Truck Transportation Terminal, a transportation company consisting of local civilian nationals, began the distribution of mail from Frankfurt am Main International Airport to locations throughout the USAREUR footprint.
The mission has had a long history of using contracted drivers and truck commanders, but as of now, the U.S. Army is looking to its motor transport operators (88Ms) in Europe to step up and support the execution of this mission for a number of reasons.
Originally, the USAREUR mail mission had been executed by an entirely civilian team of drivers and truck commanders (TCs). The drivers were part of the 6966 TTT and were predominantly local nationals, while the TCs were all U.S. civilians. In 2013, it was decided that this contracting job would be cut and that the transportation companies in USAREUR would fill the void.
The 515th Transportation Company (TC) was first to receive responsibility for the mission and executed it from August 2013 until October 2014. Following this, 51st TC then took over responsibility of the mission. The transition of responsibility between these two companies for the USAREUR mail mission was very successful.
The mail mission is essential for USAREUR because it ensures that mail sent from the U.S., makes a successful transition from the hands of the sender to the receiver, completely internally within the U.S. Army. This has benefitted USAREUR in a number of ways. This initiative allows for U.S. shipping addresses for Soldiers based in Europe, which means that they can easily receive correspondence that is sent, or items purchased, from the U.S. in a significantly more cost-effective manner.
Additionally, Soldiers have been presented with excellent opportunities while being assigned to the mail mission. The mission has created new roles for Soldiers to participate in, adding new mission opportunities for the Soldiers of 515th and 51st Transportation Company’s.
“The mail mission is a great opportunity to gain experience as an 88M in Europe because it allows Soldiers to travel with the knowledgeable drivers of the 6966 TTT and create a friendly relationship to accomplish the mission, which boosts morale of USAREUR’s Soldiers, families, and friends,” said Spc. David Baugh, a motor transport operator with the 51st TC. “Soldiers are out on mail mission gaining fundamental experience, in an environment that is allowing them to learn and develop their skills as transporters.”
The basic concept of the operation is that Soldiers execute missions out of Wackernheim, which is an Army base that now predominantly houses the 6966 TTT. The mail pickup and delivery to locations throughout USAREUR is determined and scheduled based on the distance from Frankfurt, as well as the volume of mail being sent there at any particular time. For example, Garmisch and Brussels are overnight missions, having mail delivered to them on a three-day rotation, whereas Kaiserslautern has a mission that runs to the city daily. Weekly, the Soldiers rotate to different missions in order to prevent them from becoming complacent and to develop new experience delivering to different locations in Germany. The majority of the Soldiers are only truck commanders, while a few of the noncommissioned officers that are licensed on the M915, have been able to drive on missions.
“It promotes good relations with the German civilians we are partnered with and makes for strong partnerships,” said Sgt. Davis Stepney, a motor transport operator with the 515th TC.
Once the weekly schedule is published, each Soldier knows the time their mission will depart each day, or throughout the week, and the NCOs on mail mission have the responsibility to shuttle the Soldiers from Army lodging in Wiesbaden to Wackernheim, where they meet their drivers, fill out paperwork for the mission, and get in their M915 to pick up the mail at Frankfurt am Main International Airport.
Once they arrive at the airport, the Soldiers wait in a staging area for the call forward from the authorities at the airport. This call informs them that the mail is ready for pickup. The Soldier and German counterpart then drive to the airport; pick up the mail, watch the truck be secured with a container seal and sign a document stating that they observed it being secured. Once the mail arrives at its final destination, the Soldier and the contact receiving the mail inspect the seal to ensure it has not been tampered with, that the serial number is the correct one for that delivery, and they then sign again. Upon returning to Wackernheim, the Soldiers finish their paperwork which includes the weight hauled, as well as arrival and departure times.
Since 51st Transportation Company took over the responsibility of the USAREUR mail mission in October 2014, there have been no mistakes or problems to note. All Soldiers have handled this new role to the best of their abilities and each has ensured that the U.S. Army has benefited from helping to independently handle and deliver its own mail to U.S. forces in Europe. Other than ensuring the successful delivery of military mail throughout the USAREUR community, Soldiers have gained exceptional experience in their occupations that will stay with them throughout their tenure as 88Ms in the United States Army.
| Date Taken: | 04.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2015 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 159400 |
| Location: | WACKERNHEIM, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 746 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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