Photo By Melissa Escobar | Army Pfc. Cynthia Y. Isais places the final documentation required to a Soldier's...... read more read more
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By Pfc. Melissa M. Escobar
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- One of the best groups of Soldiers for any troop to know while downrange is the postal team.
For Soldiers serving at Jalalabad Airfield and throughout the northeastern section of Regional Command-East, that team of Soldiers is the 458th Adjutant General Company (Postal).
Army Staff Sgt. Brian R. Boss of Valiant, Okla., the noncommissioned officer in charge of the team, operates the post office along with his crew of postal clerks, Army Pfc. Livet Diaz, of Chicago and Army Pfc. Cynthia Y. Isais, from El Paso, Texas. They are responsible for ensuring that troops stationed at bases like Jalalabad Airfield, Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team, Asadabad, Camp Blessing, Naray, Kala Gush, Mehtar Lam and Torquam not only receive their mail but get their outgoing mail out.
Through base postal facilities, Soldiers receive letters and care packages, send letters and packages to loved ones and even mail their own belongings to themselves.
Army 1st Sgt. Daniel Hall, a native of Ahoskie, N.C., who serves as Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team first sergeant, has become an expert on sending out mail. He has sent numerous packages to his two children for special occasions including their birthdays and Christmas. He doesn't forget to send packages to one of his fellow Soldiers, his own wife, who is also serving in Afghanistan.
"Postal is extremely important," Hall said. "It's a morale booster for me and for the troops. I'm pretty confident in the mail system."
Isais realizes the importance of her job and said she gets satisfaction from knowing that she plays a vital role.
"We make Soldiers happy by mailing stuff out to their loved ones all over," Isais said.
For Soldiers serving downrange, receiving mail from loved ones back home is especially important. In fact, it's the most important thing as far as morale goes, according to Army Master Sgt. Patrick J. Muir, a native of Holland, Mich., assigned to HHC, 3rd BCT.
Before Soldiers receive mail from the U.S., it makes its way to New York. From there, everything is sent to Bagram Airfield, the initial arrival point of all incoming mail addressed to Afghanistan and the final Afghan stop for outbound mail leaving the country. Then the mail is sorted out and sent to post offices like the one the 458th crew runs.
If it seems like mail isn't reaching its destination quick enough, that fault doesn't necessarily lay with the postal team. They cannot control all aspects of the mail system.
"Come rain or shine," unfortunately, is not always an appropriate motto for theater mail. Weather is a huge factor. In fact, there is a backlog of mail stuck at Bagram that accumulated in the winter due to the cold, rainy and snowy weather.
But not to worry; Boss said he'll use any means of transportation necessary to get the mail to its final destination.
Soldiers can expect their mail to arrive by convoy or aboard a chopper. Even if there's a single package headed in the same direction as a convoy, he'll do what he must to get that package delivered.
Either way, when you receive your package or a notice that your package has reached its final destination, thank your loved ones for the odds and ends they have sent you – but don't forget to show a little gratitude to your local postal workers.
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2007 10:47 |
| Story ID: | 9414 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 211 |
| Downloads: | 166 |
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