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operates a postal finance station at Naval Station, San
Diego, CA.
The first postmaster general, Benjamin Franklin,
established the tradition that the U.S. mail is a service
to all the people of the United States, which should be
used as often as needed and rendered at the lowest
possible rates. Service is still the primary mission of
the USPS. It is your primary function to see that your
shipmates receive the same benefits of service through
the Military Postal Service. In performing this
function efficiently, you will contribute greatly to the
morale of your command.
As a Postal Clerk, you need a broad knowledge of
military postal operations and a detailed knowledge of
postal jobs.
An important phase of postal operations is the
movement of mail. Outgoing mail must be dispatched
with speed and efficiency to ensure that transportation
schedules are met. Incoming mail must be processed
quickly to avoid delay in delivery. How you handle
your incoming and outgoing mail will, in large
measure, decide the reputation of your post office.
Postal counter work is basically a matter of public
contact. It requires businesslike behavior, courtesy,
and efficient service to personnel served. Clerks must
possess a thorough knowledge of postal regulations
concerning the types of postal services offered,
postage rates, and proper packaging and contents of all
classes of mail acceptable for transshipment through
the mails.
You will also keep records and prepare reports, as
required by the USPS, the Department of the Navy, and
the MPSA in relation to post office operations.
Operation of a post office includes the upkeep of
equipment, ordering supplies, and maintaining post
office spaces.
You must have a thorough knowledge of the
Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, and
U.S. Postal Service security regulations. You are
responsible for the safekeeping of the mail, postage
stamps, accountable equipment, stamped paper, and
blank money order forms in your custody, and cash that
is entrusted to you. You are also responsible for
disposing of postal effects during an emergency.
Financial responsibility involves the custodial
accounting, inspection, and supervisory functions
required in proper handling of postal effects as well as
records of financial transactions such as the sale and
payment of postal money orders and the collection of
customs duties.
You will also arrange, through the postal officer,
transportation for the dispatch and pickup of mail from
post offices or other locations ashore and afloat.
In addition to your professional duties as a military
postal clerk, you perform military duties. Aboard ship,
Postal Clerks have assignments under the watch,
quarter, and station bill (as all the crewmembers have)
that are unrelated to their postal duties.
You may serve in a variety of billets on small ships
such as DDs or CGs or on larger ships such as LHDs or
CVNs. Or you may also be assigned to duty at an
overseas activity that has a Navy post office, such as
Naples, Italy, or Yokosuka, Japan.
As you prepare for advancement, your
responsibilities for naval leadership will increase, as
will the applications of leadership to the duties of your
rating.
Your responsibilities for technical leadership arise
from the nature of your work. Keeping the ship’s post
office operating efficiently and its financial affairs in
good order is a large task. You perform this task
effectively when you accept the responsibility of
performing every detail of your work with complete
integrity and reliability and when you continue to
increase your knowledge of a military postal clerk’s
job.
Integrity of work is a key factor in technical
leadership; all other factors relate to it in some way.
Integrity of work refers to big things and little things
such as the way you supervise the post office, the way
you handle your stamp or money order accounts, the
way you issue stamps or money orders, the accuracy
and neatness of your records, your ability to move mail
rapidly, your ability to process inquiries and
complaints quickly and knowledgeably, and the
manner in which you conduct daily transactions with
customers.
When you perform every job as efficiently as you
can, and constantly strive to increase your skills and
broaden your knowledge, you are demonstrating
integrity of work in a concrete practical way. You are
also demonstrating technical leadership.
Integrity also involves financial responsibility.
This means continuous accurate accounting for all
postal funds. The first and most important thing a
military postal clerk must learn is the seriousness of
this responsibility. To borrow even a small amount
from postal funds or to be careless in handling these
funds is the first step into serious trouble.
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