Mail Call

We retrieve our mail from a nearby camp about once a week.  When the convoy bringing it back to our FOB is about ten minutes out, the convoy commander alerts our operations center to gather all available personnel to help download the trucks and trailers full of packages.  These days, letter mail is rare; most mail comes in the white “Priority Mail” cartons you buy at the post office.  When the convoy arrives, we stack the mail in piles organized by section and unit.  It is a happy, democratic time.  Everyone pitches in, and we are all eager to see who got what.  Lots of packages–especially those containing food–are opened publicly and the contents distributed quickly.  Others we bundle back to our rooms to see what friends and family have sent us.  “To Any Soldier” deliveries fill the void for those who otherwise have received nothing.  Mail-induced euphoria lasts for a couple of hours, and then it’s back to the routine.