Postal Troops Ship Out

The Killen, Kansas Daily Herald reports twenty soldiers from the from the 81st Adjutant General (Postal) unit have shipped out for a 12-month deployment to the Middle East.

Reporter Amanda Kim Stairrett writes, "The postal unit will be responsible for coordinating, receiving and processing incoming mail and dispatching outgoing mail in Balad, Iraq; Baghdad International Airport; and Arrfjan, Kuwait, said its commander, Lt. Col. Jason Kuroiwa. The soldiers will staff military mail terminals in which all the incoming and outgoing mail from all branches of service will filter."

Lt. Col. Kuroiwa is quoted in the article as saying, "It's an important job because mail is the No. 1 morale builder during a deployment. A letter or a care package is a tangible piece of home."

The postal soldiers had just four months to form, train and prepare for their mission. That included classes on everything from affixing proper labels to packages to distributing mail to knowing what items can't be sent to other countries.

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