Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathaniel Moger | Petty Officer 3rd Class Nyto Griffen counts stamps in the Camp America post office...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the completion of their appointed rounds.
The men and women of the United States Postal Service mark these words by the Greek philosopher Herodotus as an accurate description of their dedication to getting mail into the hands of its rightful owner.
They also reflect, by extension, the way the Navy postal clerks in the Camp America post office here in Joint Task Force Guantanamo view their job.
"We are responsible for the movement of incoming and outgoing mail for JTF personnel," said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexis Barbosa, post office leading petty officer.
Before care packages from loved ones, auto insurance bills and online merchant packages make it into the hands of departmental mail clerks, they take a long journey wrought with treacherous sorting rooms, massive warehouses and wondrous flights over the open water.
"Mail gets sent through USPS channels and ends up at the Norfolk, Va. air terminal," explained Barbosa. "Then it's consolidated and put on a mission flight to the naval station post office."
Naval station post office workers sort the mail into different zip codes corresponding with different entities on base. JTF mail is sent to McCalla Hangar.
"McCalla Hangar splits it up by workcenter," said Barbosa, counting off the different three-letter designations,) JIG (Joint Information Group), JDG (Joint Detention Group), JMG (Joint Medical Group), before continuing, "and it's delivered here presorted."
At that point they hold a mail call and departmental representatives take the pieces of mail to their ultimate destinations. However, for these postal clerks, making sure the mail gets delivered is more than just a job.
"It makes me feel good," said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Clarence Knight. "To me it's just a piece of mail, but when I see the smile on their faces, I know to them it's something else."
It also means strange hours, with fate as their boss.
"Every Saturday we go down to the sorting site to help out," said Barbosa. "We're also on call for Sundays. If the plane comes in, we go to work."
Besides the logistical work that goes into a successful mailroom, Barbosa and his team perform a juggling act, balancing their budget between cash and stamps.
"We send out between $1,500 and $2,000 in postage per week and all of it is in stamps," said Barbosa. "We have to keep perfect accountability of all the cash and stamps we use."
Due to the deployed nature of the JTF, the post office must use stamps instead of electronically administered methods. However, the naval station has expanded capabilities.
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2008 11:11 |
| Story ID: | 21295 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 368 |
| Downloads: | 186 |
This work, Rain, Sleet or Snow: The mailman Always Delivers, by PO2 Nathaniel Moger, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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