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CHAPTER 1
THE MILITARY POSTAL SERVICE
The purpose of this chapter is to give you a basic
knowledge of the Military Postal Service (MPS), its
mission and functions, service commitments, postal
facilities, postal personnel, training, sources of
information, and categories of personnel entitled to use
MPS facilities.
MISSION AND FUNCTIONS
Learning Objective: Recall the mission and
functions of the Military Postal Service (MPS)
with a brief explanation on the nature of the
MPS, the USPS/DOD postal agreement, and
the types of mail and postal services.
The mission of the Military Postal Service (MPS)
is to provide service to the Department of Defense
(DOD) agencies in support of DOD missions. The
DOD operates military post offices (MPOs) in areas
where the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) does not operate
or in other places where the military situation requires.
It also provides postal service at Navy and Marine
Corps installations where the USPS has primary
responsibility. The ultimate goal of the MPS is to
provide a level of service equal to that provided by the
USPS to the civilian population of the United States.
Another goal is to ensure that an overlap or duplication
of MPS functions between two military organizations
in the same serving area does not occur. The Military
Postal Service is an extension of the USPS beyond the
boundaries of U.S. sovereignty and is obligated to
provide prompt, reliable, and efficient postal service
for all DOD personnel overseas where USPS is not
available.
USPS Publication 38 is the governing directive on
the Postal Agreement between the United States Postal
Service and the Department of Defense.
This
publication outlines both DOD and USPS
responsibilities in providing postal services for the
Armed Forces. USPS publication 38-A is the directive
that describes postal services available to military
installations in the United States. You do not need to
become familiar with these publications, but you
should be aware they exist.
NATURE OF THE MILITARY POSTAL
SERVICE
The MPS is an extension of the USPS and operates
under an agreement between the DOD and the USPS.
On 5 May 1980, a single manager for military postal
matters for the DOD was established. The Secretary of
the Army was designated as the single manager. This
reorganization created the Military Postal Service
Agency (MPSA), and the Secretary of the Army named
the Adjutant General, U.S. Army, the Executive
Director, Military Postal Service Agency. The
Executive Director, MPSA, serves as the Department
of Defense’s single point of contact with the USPS and
other government agencies on Military Postal Service
policies and operational matters. The MPSA has many
responsibilities. The one responsibility that will most
directly affect you in the operation of your post office is
MPSA’s provision of technical support and
monitorship for command postal operations of the
military services in overseas areas and provision of
technical assistance team visits. Basically, this means
that the MPSA is responsible for the direction and
administration of the Military Postal Service.
The Military Postal Service includes the Army, Air
Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard (when
operating under the Department of the Navy). As a
group, and in cooperation with each other, the military
services provide complete postal services for the U.S.
Armed Forces wherever they are deployed.
The Military Postal Service operates in accordance
with postal laws of the United States, U.S. Postal
Service regulations and instructions, and directives
issued by the DOD, the MPSA, and the military
departments.
The MPSA is composed of a joint staff of Army,
Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps postal personnel,
and DOD civilian employees, headquartered in
Alexandria, VA.
Each military department is responsible for
carrying out the policies and procedures issued by the
DOD and the MPSA. Within the Department of the
Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO, N41) is
responsible for the postal service within the Navy. The
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