RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany –
Fifteen Airmen from the 111th Attack Wing worked in the mailroom at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, recently as part of a training exercise.
The Airmen, from the 111th Command Support Staff and 111th Force Support Squadron, rotated through various mailroom jobs, gaining hands-on experience.
“Our goal here today was to practice and train alongside members of the 786th FSS so we can be more effective and seamlessly mesh with others in a different environment”, said Master Sgt. Sheika Lupo, 111th FSS personnelist. “In a deployed setting, members of CSS would perform mailroom duties, so doing training like this is invaluable.
“We performed mail sorting and processing, customer service, package training, logistics, facility management, unloading and loading a big mail truck,” Lupo added. “We’re pushing our Airmen out of their comfort zones to learn new skills and be better-suited multi-capable Airmen.”
The 111th ATKW members engaged with the Ramstein Air Base mailroom clerks, who operate the largest mailroom in the Department of Defense.
“We provide service for over 22,000 postal patrons in the northside post office and 10,000 in the southside office,” said Tech. Sgt. Vincent Matthews, postmaster for the 786th FSS at Ramstein Air Base.
Through intensive training with the 786th FSS mailroom team, Airmen from the 111th ATKW not only strengthened their skills, but they were welcomed with a surge of manpower during one of the base's busiest seasons.
“The 111th ATKW training with us is helping a lot,” said Matthews. “We have gotten a lot more first-class mail than usual. They are helping us square away our mail, and relieving Airmen that are working the window, allowing us to be on the floor, processing packages and getting them ready.”
In an ever-evolving operational landscape, this training fostered a culture of versatility and teamwork among participants.
“This training was eye-opening”, said Lupo. “Working side-by-side with the 786th FSS, we learned about mailroom operations, but more importantly, we gained friendships and appreciation of versatility and teamwork. We helped them with their workload and they offered us invaluable training.”
Lupo spoke on takeaways to bring back to Pennsylvania.
“We are striving to build a stronger and more agile team,” said Lupo. “Training like this can serve as a reminder to stay ready for challenges that lie ahead and I have a newfound appreciation for the complexities that mailroom operations entail.”