Mail Call

Photo by Sgt. Kevin McSwain

Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division sort mail during a recent mail drop on Forward Operating Base Hammer.

This is a story from the 3rd Infantry Public Affairs Office.

FOB HAMMER, Iraq— An open mailroom puts some 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Soldiers in contact with family members for the first time since arriving in Iraq. “Soldiers are getting their mail and it feels good to know that I am a part of that,” said. El Paso, Texas, native Cpl. Maria Guardado, a brigade mail clerk. The task was to establish a mailroom for the Soldiers on Forward Operating Base Hammer from the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.The mailroom started out with one large storage container and five Soldiers. However, Guardado said that did not provide sufficient space to hold the mail that was coming in, so she had to find other containers for storage. “I talked to the Mayor’s Cell and acquired more storage space to accommodate the incoming mail,” Guardado said. “I am very thankful for all the help the battalions have provided us. We had Soldiers from all over the brigade volunteer to help receive, organize, and distribute the mail.” With the help of the volunteers, Guardado said service members are able to receive their mail within 24 hours of its arrival to the forward operating base.The base is so new that phones and internet are not readily available for Soldiers. So, for some, this is the first connection to friends and family since their arrival in Iraq. Guardado said mail gives the Soldiers something to look forward to and it has lifted morale around the brigade. “I like to see the smile on a Soldier’s face when I tell them that they have a package,” she said. Guardado said all the mail clerks have become very popular. “Soldiers are always coming up to us and asking if they have any mail for the day,” she said. Soldiers on base emphasized how grateful they were for the hard work and dedication the mail clerks have put in to establish a mailroom.“It feels good to be receiving mail, and I know it is because of their hard work that this is possible,” said Sgt. Jamie Jones, a personnel specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. Jones, from Beaumont, Texas, said that out of everything she received in her first package, she cherished the pictures of her infant daughter the most. “Being able to see how much my daughter has grown in such a short time brings me joy and it gives me something to look forward to throughout the deployment,” she said. As one of the designated mail clerks for her battalion, Jones said the mail system has been a way for Soldiers to receive products they are not able to purchase at the local Post Exchange.“The care packages that have been sent so far have been very helpful for Soldiers,” she said. “It provides them with a little of the comforts of home out here in the desert.”Guardado, who has not received her first package, said she has one special request for the contents of the box. “When my package arrives, I hope it has a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce,” she said. “But whatever is inside will be greatly appreciated.”With the establishment of a mail center and other services around base, Soldiers of 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. have shown how motivation and training can make anything possible.