Special Delivery
So, many of you might be wondering what being a mail clerk in Ramadi actually entails. To begin with, as everything else this time around, it certainly is not quite as nice as it was on Anaconda. Of course, there are some positive differences as well. For starters, I'm only picking up mail for one company this time, instead of for three battalion-sized elements, so there isn't quite as much lifting involved. On the downside, trying to get things done the right way is a lot of trouble, as the Marines running the post office are too stringent/knowledgeable about certain rules, and unlike last time, when I had some folks who knew what they were doing overseeing the mail room, all we have here is me, more or less. That's not too say I don't know what to do, it's just that I have to work much harder to make sure things get run by the book as much as possible.
Anyway, typically we get mail convoys in to the camp twice a week (and yet, people continue to order things "next day" delivery...now that's a waste of money). On the days when these conex's (they look like those rail car containers) get dropped off, I head on over to the post office (conveniently located across the street) and help sort all the boxes. This usually takes about an hour. We then grab our stuff and haul it back to my mail room, where I re-sort the mail by individual sections and inventory everything. I then do some administrative work such as redirecting any "missent" mail, and posting a list of people who have mail that day. After that, all I do is wait for everyone to come flocking in to grab their mail. That's pretty much all there is to it, really, unless you count all the time I spend explaining to soldiers the physics of the mail: As you know, a single object cannot exist in two places at the same time; therefore, if it is still somewhere else, I do not have it. A common mistake many make is confusing mail clerk with mail clairvoyant. If it hasn't arrived, I can't really say that I know where in the world it is. I'm just a man, not some kind of postal psychic. Fortunately, I think it's only a matter of time before all these first-timers finally figure some of these things out.
Anyway, typically we get mail convoys in to the camp twice a week (and yet, people continue to order things "next day" delivery...now that's a waste of money). On the days when these conex's (they look like those rail car containers) get dropped off, I head on over to the post office (conveniently located across the street) and help sort all the boxes. This usually takes about an hour. We then grab our stuff and haul it back to my mail room, where I re-sort the mail by individual sections and inventory everything. I then do some administrative work such as redirecting any "missent" mail, and posting a list of people who have mail that day. After that, all I do is wait for everyone to come flocking in to grab their mail. That's pretty much all there is to it, really, unless you count all the time I spend explaining to soldiers the physics of the mail: As you know, a single object cannot exist in two places at the same time; therefore, if it is still somewhere else, I do not have it. A common mistake many make is confusing mail clerk with mail clairvoyant. If it hasn't arrived, I can't really say that I know where in the world it is. I'm just a man, not some kind of postal psychic. Fortunately, I think it's only a matter of time before all these first-timers finally figure some of these things out.
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