JBER merges official mail centers

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Barnett
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHADSON, Alaska --  The Official Mail Distribution Center and the Official Mail Center are merging as part of the joint-basing process.

"The merger is scheduled for May 14," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Anya Rivera, mail clerk for the 673d Communications Squadron and native of San Antonio, Texas.

Official mail is different from the regular post office. The mail doesn't get delivered to personal addresses, she said. Certificates, awards and various other items like maintenance supplies are examples of official mail.

Customers pay for regular mail, she said.

"When sending out a package, each unit has an account and they are billed quarterly," Rivera said.

The mission of the Official Mail Center is to get mail delivered out to all squadrons and units on base, she said.

"We get roughly 200 pieces of mail a day to process," Rivera explained. "That's for receiving, pick-up, processing, all of it."

As the two units merge, customers can expect to see minimal impact.

"The biggest impact will be that those that pick up from us will now have to pick up from Fort Richardson," she said. "Those that picked up mail on the Elmendorf side will have to go to the Fort Richardson side."

Dorm residents on the Elmendorf side will continue to pick up mail at building 8111, she said.

Changes that may be noticed relate to the specific mail processing methods.

"The processes between Army and Air Force will be consolidated," she said. "So it's just one location and one standardized process. We will ultimately be located in building 724 on the Fort Richardson side. Flyers have been put out both by mail and through media like on Facebook and on billboards throughout the base."

Internally, one major difference between the two official mail facilities is that one side is military-operated and the other is operated by civilians.

"Currently we are assigned five Airmen and two staff sergeants," she said. "On the Fort Rich side, we have four civilians."

While the facilities face manning challenges due to deployments and other circumstances, Rivera sees a different challenge in the spotlight.

"The Army doesn't process mail the exact same way that we do," she said. "It'll be an interesting consolidation."

Rivera said she expects the civilian side to be affected more.

"As far as personnel being affected with this, the Fort Richardson side will be affected more," she said. "Being that JBER is an Air Force owned base, the Army side will have to pick up a lot of Air Force's processes. It's not hugely different, but customers will definitely notice a bit of change.

"There are a lot of sections that are still separated between the Air Force and Army side, there's a lot to change."

The basic fundamentals of mail are going to be the same, she said.

"Combining Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base, there should only be one official mail center," Rivera said. "There should always be only one per base. Being that we are combined, the consolidation was inevitable."