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By Pfc. Michael Schuch
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – When Patton's tanks rolled across North African desert sands, letters of encouragement, love and support from family back home connected the Iron Soldiers to loved ones left behind.
Today, in the heat of Iraq's deserts, mail continues to bridge the distance between Soldiers and their families. Even in today's age of advanced technological communications, nothing compares to being able to hold a letter or open a package pieced together with affection by someone at home.
"Even though my wife and I are able to communicate almost daily via the internet, it still brightens my day to open a package from her," said Sgt. 1st Class Donald Johnson, of Baumholder, Germany. "To know that her hands held this just days ago makes me feel that we are not so far apart."
It takes hours of work and numerous Soldiers to get the mail from its origin to the Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division.
"On an average day, we bring in roughly 8,000 pounds of mail, sending out nearly 1,000 pounds from the Soldiers," said Sgt. Lamond Jackson, of Los Angeles, Calif.
Soldiers serving in war zones such as Iraq are able to send letters home to the U.S. free of charge.
Once a piece of mail is shipped from anywhere in the United States, it is sent to a central facility in New York. The letter or package is then sorted as a piece intended for a Soldier in Iraq; mail is received and sorted by Soldiers working at Baghdad International Airport. These Soldiers then arrange for the mail to be and shipped by convoy to the appropriate base.
Every letter, parcel and package received by the mail handlers of the 2nd BCT, 1st Armd. Div., is sorted into the individual units, then, the office or group of each Soldier and finally, by the Soldier's name. It takes each piece of mail an average of five to 10 days to travel from origin to destination, passing through several checkpoints and countless Soldiers along the way.
Before the mail passes into the hands of its intended Soldier, it goes through the final link in the chain, the unit mail clerk. The unit mail clerk is solely responsible for ensuring that each package is intact, protected and delivered to the correct Soldier.
"Being the mail clerk is a big responsibility, because mail is really important for our Soldiers," said Pfc. Courtney Flaherty, of Pacific, Mass. "I really enjoy being able to perform this job."
No matter what a Soldier may encounter during any given day, a little piece of home provides meaning to the sacrifices they make.
"Mail is the sole thing I look forward to each day. I love it," said Cpl. John Wilson, of New York City. "Just knowing that someone special took the time and effort to write to me makes all this worth while."
| Date Taken: | 07.18.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2008 09:12 |
| Story ID: | 21600 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 60 |
This work, Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, by PFC Michael Schuch, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
