Aviano Post Office receives special USAFE delievery

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Lindsey Maurice
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  The Aviano Post Office received a special delivery last week as it was given the title "Best Large Air Force Post Office" in the U.S. Air Forces Europe.

Having toppled the seven other competitors in its category, the post office now goes up for the Air Force-level competition later this year.

"Everyone here works really hard and I think that winning the USAFE title is a testament to that," said Master Sgt. George Flaig, Aviano Postmaster. "Most people don't realize that this is a special duty; so our Airmen have to work extra hard to learn a new job quickly and to deal with the 7,000 plus customers on the base. This isn't a job where you can just take off for a day. Mail doesn't stop. It moves seven days a week."

Sergeant Flaig said there are several key factors that he thinks led to the base post office being named best in USAFE. These factors include developing several programs that were adopted throughout the command. The Airmen travel about 150 miles daily, six days a week to pick up the mail from the airport. They've also been the only major operating base to receive an excellent rating on its USAFE Postal Operations Inspection.

"One of the ways we've led the way includes incorporating the zip plus four U.S. Postal Service technology that allows the mail to be sorted in the states before it arrives here," said Sergeant Flaig. "This process alone will saves the command more than 2,900 man hours annually."

The base post office also set the standard for containerizing mail versus bagging it from the states, he said. By removing the bagging step, it saves the Department of Defense an estimated $1,000 a month in transport fees and the base post office more than 540 man hours a year.

Sergeant Flaig added that there is a lot that goes into the mail process behind the scenes that most people don't realize.

"Moving mail isn't easy," he said. There are many different legs in the process of mail delivery. Airmen transport mail from commercial carriers at the Venice airport in time for the night shift to break down the package and letter loads. These airmen sort an average of 85,000 to 100,000 kilograms of incoming mail a month. Finally, the day shift place notifications in the customers' boxes and work the customer service counters. "It's a long, continuous process."

Senior Airman Joseph Metelko, who has been working at the Aviano Post Office for two and a half years, said he was thrilled by the base's recent win.

"I was shocked," he said. "But over the last year or so we've really pulled together and made a lot of positive changes so I would say this award is well deserved."

Airman Metelko added that his favorite aspect of the postal career field is the customer service element.

"I really enjoy giving customers their packages, especially at Christmas time," he said.

Sergeant Flaig added that something most people may not realize is the amount and variety of mail volume his staff handles at Aviano.

"I don't think people realize just how much mail comes in," said Sergeant Flaig. He describes everything from tires and car parts to unit supplies. There are also the 200-300 boxes of wrapping paper AAFES orders at Christmas and the 6,000 JC Penny catalogues for the spring and fall.

The Airmen on staff are also tasked with regular deployments.

"We had 10 Airmen deploy during 2008 and more deployed or already facing taskings later this year," said Sergeant Flaig. "These Airmen and our civilians work hard and it's good to see their efforts being recognized at the command-level."

The Aviano post office finance hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and parcel pickup hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office is also open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays for mailing and parcel pick-up. The facility closes the first and third Wednesday of each month for training after the day's mail is distributed.