thedrifter
03-25-09, 06:57 AM
Marine bears weight of Sahl Sinjar’s postal on his shoulders
3/24/2009 By Cpl. Bobbie A. Curtis , 2nd Marine Logistics Group
SAHL SINJAR AIRFIELD, Iraq —Cpl. Zach B. Delmont is an average man, about average height and weight, with a fit body type typical of most Marines you would expect to encounter. He has bright bluish-green eyes and dirty blond hair that he sports in the emblematic medium regulation haircut that most male Marines wear.
The only not-so-average thing about him is the amount of responsibility he has undertaken as the postal clerk at Sahl Sinjar Airfield, one of the most isolated Marine Corps bases in Iraq.
Since Feb. 19, Delmont, who is attached to Combat Logistics Battalion 7, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), has single-handedly processed all the mail that has arrived and departed from the airfield, serving every person to touch foot on the base in need of a post office.
He supports forward deployed, expeditionary units such as 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Wing Support Squadron-273, Regimental Combat Team 8, and several other units which have call Sahl Sinjar home.
Delmont explained that on a daily basis he handles an enormous amount of mail that collectively weighs well over 10,000 pounds, a work load that has left him weary of making the slightest mistake.
“There’s a lot of room for error,” he said. “It’s a really detail-oriented job, if you mess up it’s hard to go back and fix it.”
He added that his job is similar to disbursing and the Marine Corps Exchange when it comes to the importance of dealing with the money he collects from his customers.
“I deal with a lot of money and it has to match up,” he said. “If I mess up a little bit, if I am over or under, then it puts me in a really difficult situation.”
Currently, Delmont has found himself in a particularly demanding and busy time; Marines who are nearing the end of their deployment are preparing to depart Iraq and are sending their personal possessions and gear home.
The Marines have been lining up in the morning, some of them hauling up to three large foot lockers weighing up to 60 pounds each, embarking on a wait in a line that won’t end until the sun sets. Though this is a large burden, Delmont hasn’t let it hamper his attitude toward helping these Marines.
“These aren’t just foot lockers they’re sending, they are people’s possessions that they want to see again,” he exclaimed. “That weighs on my mind when I am dealing with things.”
Delmont believes that his job is much more enjoyable while deployed, and that the majority of postal clerks he has met take a lot of pride in what they provide for Marines out in the field.
“You’re providing a service for these guys,” he stated. “In the states we are kind of forgotten, out here it’s all about postal.”
It’s been a busy month for Delmont who in the midst of providing postal services, found out he would soon be transferring to the main post office aboard Al Asad Air Base where he will handle even more mail with the added responsibility of leading Marines.
He said thus far, he’s had a great experience working at the Sahl Sinjar post office and dealing with its limited accommodations, such as lack of plumbing and the lack of comforts troops on larger bases may take for granted everyday.
“I volunteered for this,” he said. “I told [my leaders] I want to get out and do something better and I have enjoyed it. It was a good time; I met a lot of good people.”
“It’s what I joined the Marine Corps to do,” he concluded.
For more information about the ongoing mission in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, visit www.iimefpublic.usmc.mil/iimeffwd.
Ellie
3/24/2009 By Cpl. Bobbie A. Curtis , 2nd Marine Logistics Group
SAHL SINJAR AIRFIELD, Iraq —Cpl. Zach B. Delmont is an average man, about average height and weight, with a fit body type typical of most Marines you would expect to encounter. He has bright bluish-green eyes and dirty blond hair that he sports in the emblematic medium regulation haircut that most male Marines wear.
The only not-so-average thing about him is the amount of responsibility he has undertaken as the postal clerk at Sahl Sinjar Airfield, one of the most isolated Marine Corps bases in Iraq.
Since Feb. 19, Delmont, who is attached to Combat Logistics Battalion 7, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), has single-handedly processed all the mail that has arrived and departed from the airfield, serving every person to touch foot on the base in need of a post office.
He supports forward deployed, expeditionary units such as 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Wing Support Squadron-273, Regimental Combat Team 8, and several other units which have call Sahl Sinjar home.
Delmont explained that on a daily basis he handles an enormous amount of mail that collectively weighs well over 10,000 pounds, a work load that has left him weary of making the slightest mistake.
“There’s a lot of room for error,” he said. “It’s a really detail-oriented job, if you mess up it’s hard to go back and fix it.”
He added that his job is similar to disbursing and the Marine Corps Exchange when it comes to the importance of dealing with the money he collects from his customers.
“I deal with a lot of money and it has to match up,” he said. “If I mess up a little bit, if I am over or under, then it puts me in a really difficult situation.”
Currently, Delmont has found himself in a particularly demanding and busy time; Marines who are nearing the end of their deployment are preparing to depart Iraq and are sending their personal possessions and gear home.
The Marines have been lining up in the morning, some of them hauling up to three large foot lockers weighing up to 60 pounds each, embarking on a wait in a line that won’t end until the sun sets. Though this is a large burden, Delmont hasn’t let it hamper his attitude toward helping these Marines.
“These aren’t just foot lockers they’re sending, they are people’s possessions that they want to see again,” he exclaimed. “That weighs on my mind when I am dealing with things.”
Delmont believes that his job is much more enjoyable while deployed, and that the majority of postal clerks he has met take a lot of pride in what they provide for Marines out in the field.
“You’re providing a service for these guys,” he stated. “In the states we are kind of forgotten, out here it’s all about postal.”
It’s been a busy month for Delmont who in the midst of providing postal services, found out he would soon be transferring to the main post office aboard Al Asad Air Base where he will handle even more mail with the added responsibility of leading Marines.
He said thus far, he’s had a great experience working at the Sahl Sinjar post office and dealing with its limited accommodations, such as lack of plumbing and the lack of comforts troops on larger bases may take for granted everyday.
“I volunteered for this,” he said. “I told [my leaders] I want to get out and do something better and I have enjoyed it. It was a good time; I met a lot of good people.”
“It’s what I joined the Marine Corps to do,” he concluded.
For more information about the ongoing mission in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, visit www.iimefpublic.usmc.mil/iimeffwd.
Ellie