Official Mail Center distributes excellence

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Torey Griffith
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
A typical Monday morning finds them with more than 700 tasks.

Their tasks -- official government pieces of mail, ranging from small packages to letters and postcards - sent to and from various locations from all over the world.

The four civilian Team Whiteman members are charged with inspecting, sorting, delivering and processing the official mail here, under the direction of Mr. Harold Eagleson, mailroom supervisor.

"We are a sub-contractor for a company called Anthony Wayne Services, out of Ft. Wayne, Ind.," said Mr. Eagleson. "They are a non-profit company that has been helping people with disabilities since 1960."

AWS secured a similar contract at several Air Force bases through the AbilityOne program, whose roots go back to 1938, when congress created a program enabling agencies serving people who were blind to sell products to the federal government. The program has evolved to include a variety of services completed by persons with different disabilities.

Scanning and sorting the incoming mail is quite an undertaking, according to Mr. Eagleson. Great precautions are taken to detect malicious attempts to harm the recipients of official mail.

"All incoming official mail is X-rayed, and a percentage of it is also ion-scanned, based on the current force protection level," Mr. Eagleson said.

Mr. Eagleson and his team ensure the highest standards of customer service, often going the extra mile to correct issues that would usually disrupt the flow of mail.

"We'll work out small issues, such as incorrect addresses," said Mr. Eagleson. "But re-occurring problems are sent back and used as training opportunities."

While the stressors of the job pile up with the stacks of mail, the workers enjoy their job.

"The mail run is my favorite part of the job, because I get to get out and meet new people," said Mr. Andrew Hutfles, official mail center worker. "It's a lot of fun. We work hard and pick on each other for fun."