DESIGNATION OF MAIL ORDERLIES A  responsible  official  (division  officer, department head, leading chief petty officer) normally designates  mail  orderlies  for  units  or  divisions requiring  mail  orderly  service.    These  designations should  be  accomplished  using  a  DD  Form  285  (see figure  2-3)  before  personnel  assume  mail-handling duties.    The  number  of  designated  mail  orderlies should  be  held  to  the  minimum  number  needed  to efficiently and effectively handle the mail. Division/section  mail  orderlies  normally  are charged  only  with  safeguarding  and  delivery  of incoming ordinary mail.   Specific responsibilities of the  mail  orderly  for  a  division/section  include  the following: Delivering personal mail to addressees only. Delivering  official  mail  to  individuals authorized by the commanding officer. Placing  undeliverable  mail  in  a  suitable, securely locked container and delivering it later or  returning  it  daily  to  the  unit  mailroom  or serving post office, as applicable. Returning  undeliverable  mail  to  the  unit mailroom or serving post office with the reason for non-delivery (TAD, leave, transferred, etc.). Reporting  any  known  or  suspected  postal offenses  and  irregularities  to  the  unit  postal officer or commanding officer. Before  assuming  mail-handling  duties,  mail orderlies must be properly trained.  The training they receive  should  explain  the  importance  of  postal services, individual responsibilities, and the negative consequences if they do not perform assigned postal duties  according  to  established  procedures  and instructions.   All  ongoing  training  programs  should include locally developed training courses as well as on-the-job training.  A training program is required to meet the training criteria established by Department of Defense  postal  directives.    For  mail  orderlies  you should  check  blocks  on  the  DD  Form  285  that  say, “Personal Except Accountable” and “Official Except Accountable.”    For  those  mail  orderlies  that  are authorized   to   screen   accountable   mail   for classification purposes the “Official All” block will be checked. After personnel are designated as mail orderlies, all copies of DD Form 285 must be validated by the serving postal activity.   The validation must be done following the instructions in block 10 on the DD Form 285 (see figure 2-3).  The validating officer may initial and date the form if activities do not possess an APDS or seal.  Whichever method is used, uniformity should be maintained in validating all DD Form 285s at that activity.  Three DD Form 285s must be completed and one form must be provided to each of the following: The mail orderly. The unit files. The serving postal activity. In  some  cases  DD  Form  2260,  Unit  Mail Clerk/Orderly Designation Log is used instead of the unit  file  copy  of  DD  Form  285;  in  which  case,  two copies  of  DD  Form  285  should  be  completed.   The purpose of DD Form 2260 is to provide a command or division  with  a  record  of  names  and  DD  Form  285 numbers  in  numerical  sequence  for  assigned  mail orderlies.   Most large shore activities and shipboard divisions will normally maintain the DD Form 2260; however, it is not mandatory. When this form is used to record  the  appointments  and  revocations  of  mail orderlies, a file copy of DD Form 285 is not required to be maintained by the division or command. Figure 2-4 shows an example of a DD Form 2260.  This log must be retained for 2 years after the last entry on the log has been revoked. Mail orderlies must carry their DD Form 285 at all times while performing mail-handling duties, and they must present the form when receipting for mail. DESIGNATION OF CUSTODIAN OF POSTAL EFFECTS In the first page of this chapter you learned about the selection and designation of Military Postal Clerks. 2-4 PCf0203 Figure 2-3. An example of a DD Form 285.