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"Uniform 4" redeploys in time for the holidays

December 12, 2011

By 1st Lt. Erik C. Larson

Twenty Soldiers assigned to the 4th Platoon, 22nd Human Resources Company, 593rd Special Troops Battalion, 593rd Sustainment Brigade, met the smiling faces and warm embraces of family members and friends during a welcome home ceremony, Dec. 9 on Lewis-North, Wash., following a yearlong deployment full of accomplishments.

The platoon was tasked with conducting prograde (outbound from the U.S.) and retrograde (inbound to the U.S.) postal operations at nine Satellite Army Post Offices located throughout RC-South and RC-West, Afghanistan. Throughout the past year, the platoon's main focus was improving operations at each of their locations. This resulted in new permanent postal facilities for Forward Operating Bases Spin Boldak, Wolverine and Pasab.

Additionally, an entirely new post office was built to support the service members and civilians stationed at FOB Walton.

Overall, the Soldiers of 4th Platoon processed 5.5 million pounds of prograde mail and 1.8 million pounds of retrograde mail throughout the course of their deployment.

Beyond improving facilities, the Soldiers of 4th Platoon improved operations by transitioning seven Satellite Army Post Offices from cash-only operations to Eagle Cash-only operations. This change alone reduced the amount of cash on the battlefield by $800,000 per year.

The Soldiers of 4th Platoon successfully transitioned five postal facilities in RC-South, Afghanistan from military-run operations to contracted operations.