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The DOD agrees to:
Arrange and pay for military mail transportation
from overseas facilities to/from U.S. gateways
and between overseas military facilities located
within the same geographical area.
Appoint mail clerks who are qualified to perform
postal duties, have been issued uniform
identification cards, and have no record of any
crime involving theft, moral turpitude, or have
not been disciplined for any actions reflecting
unfavorably upon their integrity.
Not accept collect on delivery (C.O.D.) mail for
delivery at MPOs.
Assume financial liability, under military claims
procedures, for the loss, damage, theft, wrong
delivery, or rifling of accountable mail by a
military or civilian mail clerk employed by the
DOD.
Assist the USPS in surveying, inspecting, and
auditing military postal facilities.
The USPS agrees to:
Provide inbound and outbound mail
transportation between the postal concentration
centers and military or commercial air or surface
carriers.
Provide equipment necessary for the operation
of MPOs; to also provide supplies and
accountable equipment without charge.
Non-accountable equipment is to be furnished
on a reimbursable basis.
Neither accept nor forward to MPOs any C.O.D.
mail.
Relieve custodians of postal effects (COPEs) of
responsibility for the amount of the invoice of
any shipment of stamps or stamped paper lost in
transit as a result of a casualty.
Furnish office space for related military postal
liaison units at USPS facilities centers.
This is just a small amount of the USPS/DOD
postal agreement. USPS Publication 38 contains the
entire agreement.
TYPES OF MAIL AND POSTAL SERVICES
As you will see, the types of mail and postal
services provided by a military post office (MPO) are
very similar to those provided by a civilian post office.
Because you may have just begun providing postal
services, some postal terms in this NRTC may be new
to you. Whenever you see a postal term and do not
understand its meaning, go to appendix 2, “Postal
Terms, Abbreviations and Acronyms,” of this NRTC
and study the term’s meaning. By doing this, you will
gain an understanding of the postal terms needed to get
the most benefit from this manual.
For example,
chapter 4, “Domestic Mail,” will discuss the types and
classes of mail accepted by the military postal facility
and chapter 5, “Special Services,” will discuss special
postal services such as insured mail. You will need to
understand all of the terms to understand the
discussion.
Q1-1. What is the basic mission of the Military Postal
Service?
Q1-2. What official has been designated as the single
manager for postal matters for the Department
of Defense?
Q1-3. What publication should you consult for an
in-depth look at the postal agreement between
the Department of Defense and the United
States Postal Service?
Now turn to appendix 1 to check your answers.
SERVICE COMMITMENTS
Learning Objective: Recall the service
commitments of the MPS regarding customer
service and customer information.
The goal of the Military Postal Service is to
provide, as a minimum, a level of service equal to that
provided by the USPS to the civilian sector in the
United States.
All the classes of mail handled by a civil post office
are also handled by military post offices. This includes
both official and personal mail. Official mail is a vital
link in a command’s chain of communications, and the
manner in which you process personal mail affects
morale. Therefore, it is important that outgoing mail
(official and personal) is dispatched as quickly as
possible, and incoming mail delivered promptly to
departments, commands, and individuals. As you can
see, you are placed in a key position in a major
communications operation. Other services you will
provide include acceptance of articles for mailing, the
selling and cashing of money orders, and the selling of
stamps and postal stationery items.
Also, various
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