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HEARING

BEFORE T H 

30MMITTEE ON POSTAL RATES

MITTEE ON POSTAL OPERATIONS

AND THE N

E,3 [AIITTEE ON POSTAL FACILITIES

AND MODERNIZATION

OF TSB

COMMITTEE ON

POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Z_ErIGHTY-NINTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

NOVEMBER 24, 1965

Printed for the use of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

56-760 WASHINGTON: 1966

4
COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE

TOM MURRAY, Tennessee, Chairman

JAMES H. MORRISON, Louisiana, Vice Chnirman

THADDEUS J. DULSKI, New York ROBERT J. CORBETT, Pennsylvania

ARNOLD 

DAVID N. 

OLSEN, 

HENDERSON, 

Montana 

North Carolina 

GLENN 

H. R. GROSS, 

CUNNINGHAM, 

Iowa 

Nebraska a

MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona EDWARD J. DERWINSKI, Illinois

DOMINICK V. DANIELS, New Jersey ROBERT F. ELLSWORTH, Kansas

LINDLEY BECKWORTH, Texas ALBERT W. JOHNSON, Pennsylvania

ROBERT N. C. NIX, Pennsylvania JOHN H. BUCHANAN, JR., Alabama

JOE R. POOL, Texas JAMES T. BROYHILL, North Carolina

WILLIAM J. GREEN, Pennsylvania

SPARK M. MATSUMAGA, Hawaii

PAUL J. KREBS, New Jersey

RAYMOND F. CLEVENGER, Michigan

JAMES M. HANLEY, New York

JOHN V. TUNNEY, California

CHARLES H. WILSON, California

CHARLES E. JOHNSON, Staff Director

B. BENTON BRAY, Associate Staff Director

JOHN H. MARTINY, Counsel

WILLIAM A. IRVINE, Assistant Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON POSTAL RATES

JAMES H. MORRISON, Louisiana, Chairman

THADDEUS J. DULSKI, New York

ARNOLD OLSEN, Montana

MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona

DOMINICK V. DANIELS, New Jersey

JOE R. POOL, Texas

ROBERT F. ELLSWORTH, Kansas

GLENN CUNNINGHAM, Nebraska

ALBERT W. JOHNSON, Pennsylvania

Er Officio Voting Members

TOM MURRAY, Tennessee ROBERT J. CORBETT, Pennsylvania

SUBCOMMITTEE ON POSTAL OPERATIONS

THADDEUS J. DULSKI, New York, Chairman.

JAMES H. MORRISON 6 Louisiana GLENN CUNNINGHAM, Nebraska

DAVID N. HENDERSON, North Carolina H. R. GROSS, Iowa

DOMINICK V. DANIELS, New Jersey ALBERT W. JOHNSON, Pennsylvania

ROBERT N. C. NIX, Pennsylvania

WILLIAM J. GREEN, Pennsylvania

Er Officio Voting Members

TOM MURRAY, Tennessee ROBERT J. CORBETT, Pennsylvania

SUBCOMMITTEE ON POSTAL FACILITIES AND MODERNIZATION

ARNOLD OLSEN, Montana, Chairman

JAMES H. MORRISON, Louisiana EDWARD J. DERWINSKI, Illinois

DOMINICK V.' DANIELS, New Jersey GLENN ,CUNNINGHAM, Nebraska

PAUL J. Ic4BS, New Jersey JAMES T. BROYHILL, North Carolina

JAMFA MAIANLEY, New York

ZOFIN `V.'TUNNEY, California

Er Officio Voting Members

TOM MURRAY, Tennessee ROBERT J. CORBETT, Pennsylvania

II

.Poir

+.8 ,
CONTENTS

Statement of— Page

Adcock, Col. James K., commander, 7025th Air Postal Group

(USAFE) 2

Meek, Col. Frank, Jr., Director of Administrative Services (USAFE)_ 2

UI

•

POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

NOVEMBER 24, 1965

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE—

SITBCOMMITrEE ON POSTAL RATES

SUBCOM3ITrrEE ON POSTAL OPERATIONS

SUBCOMMIITEE ON POSTAL FACILITIES AND MODERNIZATION

The subcommittees met at 10 a.m. at the U.S. Air Force Aerial

Mail Terminal, Frankfurt International Airport, Germany, Hon.

James H. Morrison (chairman of the Subcommittee on Postal Rates)

presiding.

Mr. MoviusoN. The members of the subcommittees on Postal Rates,

Postal Operations, and Postal Facilities and Modernization, are authorized, by House Resolution 595, to travel to European countries

for the purpose of conducting studies with respect to matters relating

to postal services. The hearing today is for the purpose of having a

review of the 7025th Air Postal Group, U.S. Air Forces Europe. A

copy of House Resolution 595 will be inserted in the record at this

point.

[H. Res. 595, 89th Cong., 1st sess.]

RESOLUTION

Resolved, That, notwithstanding the provisions of H. Res. 245, Eighty-ninth

Congress, the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service is authorized to send

not more than thirteen members of such committee, not more than two majority

staff assistants, and not more than one minority staff assistant to such European

countries as the committee may determine for the purpose of conducting studies

with respect to the policies, operations, activities, and administration by the

governments of such countries of matters in the following fields of activity of

such governments: postal rates, postal operations, postal facilities, and modernization of postal service, including research and development programs.

Notwithstanding section 1754 of title 22, United States Code, or any other

provision of law, local currencies owned by the United States shall be made

available to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service of the House of

Representatives and employees engaged in carrying out their official duties

under section 190(d) of title 2, United States Code: Provided, That (1) no

member or employee of said committee shall receive or expend local currencies

for subsistence in any country at a rate in excess of the maximum per diem

rate set forth in section 502(b) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended

by Public Law 88-633, approved October 7, 1964; (2) no member or employee

of said committee shall receive or expend an amount for transportation in excess

of actual transportation costs; (3) no appropriated funds shall be expended

for the purpose of defraying expenses of members of said committee or its employees in any country where counterpart funds are available for this purpose.

That each member or employee of said committee shall make tO the chairman

of said committee an itemized report showing the number of days visited in each

country where local currencies were spent, the amount of per diem furnished,

and the cost of transportation if furnished by public carrier, or if such transpor1
2 POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

tation is furnished by an agency of the United States Government, the identification of the agency. All such individual reports shall be filed by the chairman

with the Committee on House Administration and shall be open to public

inspection.

Mr. MORRISON. We will now hear from Col. Frank Meek, Jr., Director of Administrative Services, Headquarters United States Air

Forces in Europe, and Col. James K. Adcock, Commander, 7025th

Air Postal Group (USAFE).

STATEMENT OF COL. FRANK MEEK, IR., DIRECTOR OF

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, USAFE

Colonel MEEK. Mr. Chairman, I am Col. Frank Meek, Director

of Administrative Services, Headquarters, U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

On behalf of Gen. Bruce K. Holloway, the commander in chief,

USAFE, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Germany. As a member

of General Holloway's staff, it is my responsibility to direct and

supervise the postal and security courier operations of the command.

I am—so to speak—the Postmaster General of USAFE. The actual

execution of the Air Force postal and security courier mission in

Europe, Africa, and the Middle East is charged to the 7025th Air

Postal Group which operates under my staff cognizance.

I want to assure you that the postal and security courier system is

recognized in USAFE as one of our more vital support systems—

we know we could not do without it and we know that it must operate

efficiently, not only for morale -but for our official communications

purposes as well.

We take pride in the many significant improvements we have made

in the USAFE system during the past few years but we are also our

own best critics. We know that we must not let up in our daily efforts

to find better and faster ways to move the mail.

At this point I should like to introduce Col. James K. Adcock, the

commander of our 7025th Air Postal Group, who will brief you concerning our system.

STATEMENT BY COL. JAMES K. ADCOCK, COMMANDER, 7025TH AIR

POSTAL 'GROUP (USAFE)

Colonel ADCOCK. Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to have you and the

members of your committee with us. Knowing that you have visited

a number of the outstanding new civil postal installations in Europe

before arriving here, we could properly feel embarrassed and quite

defensive about our Air Force postal facilities and equipment. Here

at our Frankfurt Aerial Mail Terminal, and elsewhere in our extensive network, you will find no automated systems, no modern gadgetry,

and no new or sophisticated facilities. You will not find even a conveyor belt to assist in the movement of mail. As a matter of fact, the

only automatic device you will see, is the not so modern electric

canceling machine which cancels the stamps on letter mail.

But, notwithstanding our lack of modern facilities and equipment,

we are not embarrassed and defensive. We make up for these things

through the dedication, professionalism, and plain hard work of the

officers, airmen, and civilians of the 7025th Air Postal Group. This

is a proud, vigorous, and dedicated outfit; we think the system we
POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES 3

operate is second to none in the world and would like to tell you

something about it.

On this chart you see a picture of the USAFE postal and security

courier system which extends throughout Eurasia and Africa. From

Norway and Finland, our area of responsibility extends south to

Ethiopia and from Portugal in the west to Decca, East Pakistan. The

Bay of Bengal represents the dividing line between our USAFE system and the Pacific system.

The many lines and dots you see on the chart represent the maze of

land, sea, and air transportation routes we use and the many terminals,

post offices, and courier stations we operate in 23 countries.

In our transportation system we use a total of 3 U.S. airlines, MATS,

and 16 foreign airlines. The foreign carriers are used on those routes

where we have no U.S. airline or MATS service available on adequate

frequency.

All personal and official airmail and all military ordinary mail

(MOM) is moved by commercial air. Only the first class letters and

parcels, the newspapers and magazines, and the fourth-class parcels

are moved by boat across the Atlantic.

I should point out that our postal system in USAFE is vastly different from the "morale" service it was some years ago. Today, the system is oriented strongly in support of the operations and logistics requirements of the USAFE combat forces. I assure you that there has

been no deemphasis of personal mail but, on the other hand, there has

been a tremendous increase in the transmission of official communications, weapon system hardware, technical orders, publications, and

general supplies. It is for this reason that, while the oversea troop deployment in Europe has decreased since 1958, the mail volume has increased substantially.

This chart shows you how the 7025th is set up to do the job. We have

a saying that: "Wherever you find men performing the USAFE and

MEAFSA mission, there you will find men of the 7025th Air Postal

Group." At the present time, we are operating with a total strength of

995 officers, airmen and civilians. They are organized in 26 detachments which operate a total of 205 separate postal and security courier

activities in 23 countries. The operating activities range from small

1-man post offices at certain isolated outposts to the larger terminals

employing around 100.

This chart portrays the main types of activities we are operating:

Six security courier control centers.—These are the facilities maintained at the key terminal locations in our courier network. They

provide vault storage for classified courier material and serve as the

base of operations for our courier officers who pickup and deliver over

10.8 million pounds of material annually. Our couriers travel over

5.2 million miles a year which is the equivalent of 208 trips around the

world.

One hundred and sixteen post offices.—These APO's provide all of

the normal mail handling and postal finance services found in any civil

post office in the United States. They handle over $24 million in postal finance business yearly.

Twelve aerial mail terminals.—These are located at the maiet4Milfirt

mercial and military airports to interchange mail between tl*carriers 4r4),

and the APOs in the field. /Sy •

J4fli 21 66 

600
4 POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

In addition, we are currently operating 60 consolidated mailrooms

and 13 mobile distribution systems.

Our greatest emphasis is placed on the speed and reliability of transmission of weapon system pouches. These are the special airmail

pouches which contain high-priority, high-value weapon system

spares, technical orders, and critically needed supplies for support of

ITSAFE's firstline aircraft, missile, and electronic systems. We are

committed to a 50-hour total transmission time from source to user.

This means that from the time of mailing by the Air Force depot or

contractor in the United States, no more than 50 hours must have

elapsed before we have made beneficial delivery to the USAFE combat

unit in the field. We are currently running a 45-hour average on these

weapon system transmissions.

I will include in the record at this point additional background information on the 7025 Air Postal Group.

(The information referred to follows:)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION-7025 AIR POSTAL GROUP

MISSION

The 7025th Air Postal Group (USAFE) mission is to provide complete postal

and security courier support for Department of Defense and other U.S. Government agencies in the USAFE and Stricom areas of responsibility throughout

Europe, north Africa and Eurasia as far east as the Bay of Bengal—an area

covering a quarter of the earth's surface.

DEPLOYMENT

The group's 25 detachments operate 164 activities including 98 air post offices

(APO), 12 aerial mail terminals, 6 courier transfer stations, and 1 central mail

directory in a geographical area spanning 25 countries stretching from Helsinki,

Finland, to Kathmandu, Nepal.

ORGANIZATION

The 7025th Air Postal Group is one of two such Air Force organizations—

one in Europe and one in the Pacific—which, together with the Army postal

system, make up the worldwide Army and Air Force postal service. Through

the group's mail terminals and air post offices flow over 80,000 tons or 160 million pounds of mail annually—literally billions of letters. The 7025th Air

Postal Group is organized on a group/field office/detachment concept with each

detachment in a direct chain of command to the group headquarters.

Field office extensions of the group headquarters consisting of a field grade

officer and senior NCO are located in London, Paris, Wiesbaden, Rome, Istanbul,

and Madrid providing operational surveillance and on-the-spot guidance to detachments within their assigned geographical areas of responsibility.

In addition to functioning as a group, the 7025th is a staff agency of CINCUSAFE under the Directorate for Administrative Services. The group commander

wears two hats; one as group commander and the other as the USAFE Deputy for

Postal and Security Courier Operations.

OPERATIONS

Air post offioes—APOS

The 114 air post offices of the group provide the same mail handling and postal

finance service found in any civil post office in the United States. In overseas

areas where banking facilities are not available, the APO's sell postal money orders. Over $19 million worth of money orders are sold in USAFE annually.

Aerial moil terminals

In order to provide the fastest possible mail service, the group has developed

a fully integrated postal transportation network which links every corner of

the command through a network of aerial mail terminals and truck feeder lines.

Strategically located in 12 key cities throughout Europe and the Middle East,

these terminals are geared to take full advantage of the frequency of commercial

jet flights to move mail with the greatest possible speed.
4

POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES 5

Although there has been no deemphasis of its important influence on morale,

today's postal service is strongly oriented in support of operational and logistical

requirements of USAFE combat forces. There has been, and will continue to be,

a tremendous increase in transmission of official communications, weapons system hardware, publications and general supplies in support of USAFE operations.

WEAPONS SYSTEM SUPPORT

The 7025th Air Postal Group pioneered in the utilization of airmail in logistical

support of USAFE's first-line weapon systems. Under this concept, Weapon

System Pouches containing hi-priority, hi-value spare parts are transmitted by

registered airmail from USAF depots and contractors in the United States to

USAFE combat bases. Operating under a 50-hour "source-to-user" deadline

time the Group has geared its system operations to insure delivery within the

prescribed time limit. In 1962 and 1963 over 27,000 Weapon System Pouches

were delivered with an average elapsed time of 48 hours covering an average

distance of 4,000 miles.

COURIER TRANSFER STATIONS

Coupled with its postal operations, the 7025th operates six Courier Transfer

Stations of the Armed Forces Courier Service. These stations provide vault

storage for Top Secret and Crypto Courier material and act as a base of operations for courier officers who make pickup and delivery over 5.7 million pounds

of material annually in the USAFE area traveling over 5.2 million miles.

Operational statistics, 1965

•

Volume of mail handled (tons) 1 89,706

Registered mail handled (pieces) 1 1,900,000

Insured mail (pieces) 1 812,887

Money order business (value) 1 $19,000,000

Postage sales ( value) 1 $3,100,000

Number of countries served 25

Number of mail terminals operated 12

Number of APO/units operated 116

Number of courier stations operated 6

1 These figures are 1964 calendar year totals. Figures for 1st 6 months of 1965 are

running substantially ahead of 1964.

OUTSTANDING UNIT AWARD

The 7025th Air Postal Group (USAFE) received the Air Force outstanding

unit award from the Secretary of the Air Force on February 19, 1965 for exceptionally meritorious service in support of the U.S. Air Force in Europe. The

citation accompanying the award reads as follows:

"The 7025th Air Postal Group, U.S. Air Force in Europe, distinguished itself

by exceptionally meritorious service, from July 15, 1962, to May 31, 1964. During this period, the personnel of the 7025th Air Postal Group efficiently and effectively serviced 26 countries of Eurasia and Africa with postal and security

courier service. Playing a vital role in the logistical support of the U.S. Air

Forces in Europe combat force, the personnel of the 7025th Air Postal Group

handled with exceptional speed and reliability the transmission of thousands

of weapon system pouches containing high-priority weapon system spares. Supporting isolated activities of the State Department, the National Security Agency

and the U.S. Strike Command, the members of the 7025th Air Postal Group

provided the, essential transmission link for numerous classified operations

serving the national interest of the United States. The singularly distinctive

accomplishments of the personnel of the 7025th Air Postal Group reflect great

credit upon themselves and the U.S. Air Force."

Colonel ADCOCK. Mr. Chairman, this concludes the briefing; are

there any questions ?

Mr. MORRISON. Colonel, we appreciate your excellent briefing. It

has been very informative, concise, to the point, and has contributed

to our knowledge. I would like to refer to the first chart which showed

56-760-66 2
6 POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

your transportation routes—some by surface, some by air, some by

truck, and some by train. Our committee recently took up a bill

which was passed by Congress this year and signed by the President,

Public Law 89-315. It gives all military personnel in Vietnam the

right to send letters without postage to the United States and to have

those letters go by airmail from Vietnam to the United Sates. Likewise, the law provides that parcels up to 5 pounds will be sent by

airlift from San Francisco to Vietnam on a space-available basis.

During the hearings on that bill, there was considerable discussion in

the committee concerning similar mail service all over the world to

service personnel. Right here in your particular area, let's say a letter

is sent from the United States and it has a 5-cent stamp on it. Does it

go by surface?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir.

Mr. MORRISON. If airmail, it comes by air?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir.

Mr. MORRISON. Take a letter going back to the States with an airmail

stamp on it, it goes by air?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir.

Mr. MORRISON. But if they use a 5-cent stamp, it goes by surface?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir.

Mr. MORRISON. Would it be possible to transmit all first-class letters

to this area by air? Would that be feasible?

Colonel ADCOCK. Mr. Chairman, we feel that the military departments have done very well by us in providing the authority and money

to move all airmail and military ordinary mail by commercial airlift.

By the use of the fast, frequent, and regularly scheduled commercial

flights, we are guaranteed excellent service for the higher priority categories of both personal and official mail. I believe the departments are

now spending upwards of $50 million a year for commercial airlift.

We feel this money is well spent for highly important purposes but

we are mindful that this is a lot of money and that the Defense dollars

must be distributed between many, many important programs. Now,

if we are talking about a Utopian situation where the military departments are provided the authority and money to give us more airlift

service without impacting adversely on other programs, there is nothing that would please us more than to have airlift of other categories

of mail. Certainly, the slow movement of surface mail, which includes

the 5-cent letters, continues to be the source of greatest complaint concerning our service.

Mr. MORRISON. How long does it take from New York to Frankfurt

whether it is first class or parcel post?

Colonel ADCOCK. We get an average of about nine ships a month

from New York to Bremerhaven. Notwithstanding this favorable

sealift frequency and the relatively fast transatlantic sea time, it still

takes an average of 31 days to get a letter, parcel, magazine, or newspaper from the sender in the States to the addressee here in Germany.

There is a lot more involved here than just the sealift time—the rail

time in the States, the processing and holding time at the ports and

the rail and truck time overseas.

Mr. MORRISON. Newspapers would be 31 days old when you get

them?
POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES 7

4

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes; it is rather common to get newspapers in

bunches with some over a month old.

Mr. PooL. How many ships do you have to your other ports and

how old is the mail when it gets delivered?

Colonel ADCOCK. Here is a rundown on the number of ships monthly and the total delivery time to the other ports and I will ask Lieutenant Colonel Ferguson, the staff postal officer of the U.S. Army in Europe who is here with us, to certify whether this data coincides with

his in the areas the Army handles:

Ships Monthly Delivery time

(days)

Ships monthly Delivery time (days)

England Ethiopia_ France Germany Greece 1 India 1 

4. 5

3. 0

1.0 9. 0

3.0

3.0

295323313675

Italy Libya Netherlands 1 Pakistan 1 

Portugal Spain 

5. 0

3.0

3.0 3. 5

3.0 1.0

293224552829

1 1st-class letter mail is transported by air.

Colonel Ferguson, do these figures compare with yours?

Lieutenant Colonel FERGUSON. Yes, sir; they do.

Mr. Poor,. Do you mean to say that it is actually taking almost 2

months or even more to some of your locations? In other words you

are saying that first-class letters and magazines and newspapers and

even packages containing articles people need in these isolateelocations, are taking that long?

Colonel ADCOCK . Yes sir; the figures we have presented are based

on a careful analysis of 

Yes,

times taken from postmark dates which

we do on a continuing basis as part of our mail management responsibilities.

Mr. Poor,. Why in the world hasn't somebody done something about

this? I don't think it's necessary to have a war or an emergency situation like Vietnam to warrant better mail service than this to Americans

wherever they are.

Colonel ADCOCK. Sir, the matter of mail transit time and all facets

of mail service improvement is something we discuss with our higher

headquarters on a continuing basis. Our superiors in Washington are

well aware of the slow movement problems and I know they don't like

the present situation any more than we do. But, as I mentioned before,

we in the military postal service cannot be prima donnas and beat the

drum for more high-cost transportation at the expense of other urgent

defense programs which need funding. I don't mind saying that

while my responsibility here in Europe is to run the best possible

postal service, I am, first and foremost, a professional Air Force

officer with higher responsibilities to the Air Force, our Defense Department, and our Nation as a whole. I say again that we are grateful

for the splendid commercial airlift we are now receiving and which is

giving us rather fantastic speed of movement of the bona fide airmail

and official mail even to our most isolated spots.

Mr. MORRISON. Colonel, are you saying that you don't think anything should be done about these deplorable delivery,times? Do you

think in this modern day and age any American military or civilian

employee of the Government should have to wait up to 2 months in

some cases to get a newspaper or letter or parcel?

k
8 POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

Colonel ADCOCK. Mr. Chairman, I am not saying that at all. I

merely say that a high-speed service is available today to all military

and civilian personnel through the use of airmail service. The postage

cost is higher

'

of course, but if a person needs or wants fast service, it

is available. Naturally, in a utopian situation where we might have

all the money and all the commercial airlift we might need, and where

we would not be taking away from other defense programs of equal

or higher priority, I would be the first to get in and fight to get airlift

for all our mail.

Mr. MORRISON. Colonel, I appreciate your statement that you have

broad responsibilities to the Nation as a whole. The committee respects your view in this regard and I am sure we would not have as

high a respect for you if you did take a narrow point of view. But I

think this is the crux of the matter—this oversea mail situation is one

of national concern. It's not just an Air Force or an Army or even

a Post Office Department problem. Congress has the responsibility to

look after the total national interest. That's why we want your professional opinions on how we can solve an important national problem.

We already know how not to solve it and what all the obstacles are.

Colonel ADCOCK. Sir, I want to be as factual and helpful as I

can.

Mr. MORRISON. Aren't some of the isolated places where you have

the long delivery times rather important bases?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir; some of these bases have very important

missions.

Mr. MORRISON. Doesn't their isolation make good mail service even

more important? Don't they need more merchandise, more news, and

even more letters for the morale and welfare of the troops and our

civilians?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir. I believe this is true in any part of the

world; the greater the degree of isolation, the greater the per capita

utilization of mail for all purposes.

Mr. MARTINY. Colonel, has any of your briefing concerned Navy

mail?

Colonel ADCOCK. No; I have been referring only to the APO mail

for which we are responsible. Of course, some Navy activities receive mail through APO channels and only to that extent have any of my

references included the Navy.

Mr. MARTINY. The committee learned in London from the Navy that

they do transport their surface mail by air.

Colonel ADCOCK. I am sorry but we are not aware of the Navy's practices in this regard.

Mr. MORRISON. If the Navy can fly their FPO mail—whether this is 5-cent letters or parcels—why can't the Army and Air Force do the

same? Wouldn't it be feasible to fly all classes of APO mail?

Colonel ADCOCK. Sir, I would say again, I am not aware of what the

Navy is doing, but on the question of feasibility for APO mail, the test for feasibility would have to be based on such factors as availability of transporation money and commercial airlift, evaluated in the context of total Defense and Government requirements.

Mr. MORRISON. Well, the point I am making is, could you give us the amount of surface mail that comes over here from New York and tell us whether it is in such great quantities that it could not possibly be transported by air using present airline capabilities ?
POSTAL SERVICES OF 13%S. ARMED FORCES 9

Colonel ADCOCK. I can best answer your question this way. Let's

take England as an example. If we were to airlift all surface mail

from New York to England, and if we could do it on a daily constant

flow basis, we would have to move 5,300 pounds each day. To our

highest density area here in Germany, we would have to move a little

over 64,000 pounds.

Mr. MORRISON. Now do these figures cover only the 5-cent letters and

small first-class parcels?

Colonel ADCOCK-. No, sir; these figures include the total surface mail

category-5-cent letters, newspapers, magazines, and all classes and

sizes of parcels up to 70 pounds.

Mr. MORRISON. How much will these modern jets carry in pounds or

tons?

Colonel ADCOCK. If we may speak in terms of the big jet freighters,

the Boeing 707 or Douglas DC-8 freighters being operated by the three

-U.S. carriers, they can cross the Atlantic nonstop from New York to

Frankfurt with about 65,000 pounds or 321/2 tons.

Mr. MORRISON. Do you mean that one single DC-8 or 707 each day

could carry the entire surface mail load for Germany?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir; that is if you had an entire freighter reserved for nothing but the surface mail.

Mr. MORRISON. In other words, one jet could carry it all or it could

be divided up between a number of jet cargo planes or passenger planes

during each day? Is that correct?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir. I would add however, that this is based

on the ideal situation with palletized loading on the freighter models

which can accommodate a good weight to cube ratio.

Mr. MoRRIsoN. You mean they might not be able to fit in the load

because of the bulkiness?

Colonel ADCOCK. Based on an average of 45 pounds per sack and

an average cube of 3.75 cubic feet per sack it would appear that the

707 or DC-8 freighter could accommodate the full 32/12-ton load before

bulking out.

Mr. POOL. Colonel, will you give us the figures on how much airlift

would be needed for the surface mail to the other areas we were discussing a while ago?

'Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir; here is a rundown of the monthly surface

mail totals to each major area and how much airlift we would need

daily to take care of it:

Country Pounds a

month Pounds a

day Country Pounds a

month Pounds a

day

England 120,200 5,300 Italy 252,000 8,400

Ethiopia 47,400 1,600 Libya 51,200 1,700

France 321,600 10,700 Holland 16,000 500

Germany 1, 931, 600 64,300 Turkey 64,500 2,100

Greece 126, 000 4,200 Pakistan 49,400 1,600

India 30,400 1,000 Spain 120,800 4,000

Iran 53,500 1,800

Mr. PooL. 'When you tell us that a freighter will carry 65,000

pounds, these figures look like a drop in the bucket.

Colonel ADCOCK. We must remember, sir, that we don't have direct

airlift to each of these places and that the total amount of mail is

compressed on the trans-Atlantic segment. In other words, mail for
10 POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

Pakistan, India, and Ethiopia has got to vie for space over the

Atlantic with the mail going to England and Frankfurt.

Mr. Poor... Nevertheless, with all the cargo flights and all the

passenger flights on different routes out this way, it doesn't look

like an insurmountable problem. What do you think, could the airlines handle it—what is your personal opinion?

Colonel ADCOCK. Sir, I honestly could not give the committee a valid

answer on this. I am not acquainted with the airline load factors

or their future plans on equipment and scheduling. Also, I do not

have a feel for other military requirements for airlift of troops,

dependents

'

and cargo. I really believe the question of airline capability must be put to the airlines themselves and that their stated

capability must then be weighed against the total defense and civil

traffic requirements.

Mr. MORRISON. Let's get back to the basic policy question. That

is what I don't understand. If I am in the Navy I get some of my

surface mail by airlift, but if I am in the Army or the Air Force, I

don't. Why is it that the Navy can airlift theirs and the Air Force

and Army can't airlift theirs?

Colonel Arcocx. Well, sir, I cannot speak for what the Navy does

or does not do, but from what I know, the main reason the Air

Force and Army does not airlift surface mail is the tremendous cost.

We are talking about millions of dollars of new transportation money

and whether or not the airlines can do the job without jeopardizing

other airlift requirements. I feel that the Army and Air Force are

doing the very best job they can on an economical basis.

Mr. MORRISON. Would the additional cost of going from surface to

air be justified?

Colonel ADCOCK. Sir there are obvious advantages and disadvantages on this question. If we got total airlift, we could gear our work

force, vehicles, and facilities to a round-the-clock constant mail flow

on a daily basis. The ebb and flow of the great waves of surface

mail would be changed to a routine daily flow that has obvious advantages in terms of personnel and facility utilization. In some

cases, we could knock off separate truck runs that now operate purely

for surface mail. But whether or not this would warrant the high

cost of airlift is difficult to answer. First of all, the cost is a big

question mark—we don't know what rate would apply. I hardly

think we would be talking about paying the present airmail or MOM

rate for surface mail. Now if the CAB, the military, and airlines

got together and worked on it, it is possible that the cost could be

brought down. Only after all the cards are on the table and we know

precisely what the cost is can we intelligently decide whether it is

justifiable. The real expert on the subject of what could be eliminated here in Europe would be Colonel Ferguson who is in charge

of the major surface mail facilities and transportation.

Mr. OLSEN. How about the civilian post office sorting the surface

mail and putting it in pouches to go to the destination without you ever

opening the pouches until they reach the destination?

Colonel ADCOCK. The Post Office Department does that now.

Mr. OLSEN. Yes; but you have to sort the sacks as they come off

the boat.
POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES 11

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes; the Army does that, but the mail is made up

for us the way we want it. We send it out to the field without having

to wrestle with it too much.

Mr. OLSEN. I think you missed my point. If direct pouches for

units at such inland points at Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, etc., were

airlifted direct to those points, wouldn't it eliminate a lot of handling,

'rehandling, and trucking?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes, sir.

Mr. MORRISON. When you bring surface mail into Frankfurt, where

does it unload?

Colonel ADCOCK. Bremerhaven.

Mr. MORRISON. How is it handled from there?

Lieutenant Colonel FERGUSON. The boat normally arrives at Bremerhaven some time at night. It is unloaded at 6 a.m. the next morning. By that afternoon it is sorted by the various APO's and consigned to certain destinations by 1645 hours. The rail car will arrive at

Rhein Main by 1000 hours the next morning and be ready for delivery

at 1300 hours. We consign rail cars as far as Munich and Nurnberg

sometimes.

Mr. MORRISON. Is it true that some of the surface handling facilities

and transportation could be eliminated if you used air all the way to

final destination?

Lieutenant Colonel FERGUSON. That is true.

Mr. MORRISON. What is the amount of the MATS flying service

here? If some of this mail were designated to be transported by air

as the Navy does it, could MATS handle any of that on a space-available basis?

Colonel ADCOCK. Mr. Chairman, you bring up a new element when

you talk of MATS. This introduces a new transportation channel.

For a number of years, we have been geared to the commercial airline

channels into the major commercial airports. We run our feeder

transportation systems to and from these commercial airports.

MATS has its own airbases. When we introduce a MATS mail system such as we used to have, this means we have to set up a new rail

and trucking system—a new terminal and transportation system. The

same is true in the United States. If the -U.S. Post Office Department

has to dispatch on MATS, the mail has to be moved from the New

York concentration center to the MATS bases at McGuire, Dover, or

Charleston.

Mr. MORRISON. You don't think that under the present circumstances if this mail were airlifted, it would be a good procedure to

put it in the MATS service?

Colonel ADCOCK. We would welcome any improvement but ideally

we should have a single transportation system and stay away from

any redundancy in our terminal facilities and transportation systems.

Any redundancy that creeps in means added personnel, operating

funds, real estate, vehicles, and equipment.

Mr. MORRISON. It seems to me that it would be to the airlines interest if they were to give a lower rate and make it feasible to airlift the

surface mail, I think we have got to let the Congress know all the

facts and decide what to do. The CAB has a responsibility here

too. With our military operating all over the world, we can't think

solely in terms of domestic mail problems. With the military forces
12 POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

spread out the way they are, and doing the vital job that they are

for the United States, Congress has got to give consideration to moving this mail by air. I think this problem is an acute one and Congress has the responsibility to gointo it more fully. Frankly, until

we reached London, I didn't know that the Navy airlifted some of

their surface mail and the other branches of the military did not. I

think it is necessary for all personnel to get as rapid mail service as

possible, whether they are at sea or on airbases or in the field. I

don't think we should have any standard of service except the best.

Mr. OLSEN. We should just state there will be no more airmail.

In the United States we are trying to work up a standardized system

where airmail as a separate category will be eliminated. If you are

successful in this, it means that our civil mail will be delivered in the

fastest way possible and the military mail will not. We must have a

uniform system.

Mr. DANIELS. Does the mail originating in the United States going

to England come into Germany first?

Colonel ADCOCK. No; it goes directly to England.

Mr. DANIELS. Does the French mail come here first?

Colonel ADCOCK. No; it goes directly to France by either air

or surface.

Mr. Poor,. What other commands such as yours operate the Air

Force postal system?

Colonel ADCOCK. There is the 6005th Air Postal Group in the Pacific, located at Hickam AFB in Hawaii and the 7th Air Postal

Squadron at McGuire AFB, N.J.

Mr. DANIELS. Are only military personnel involved in the handling of this mail?

Colonel ADCOCK. We use all military personnel except for about

20 civilians.

Mr. MARTINY. Is the other postal group about the same as yours?

Colonel MEEK. The postal group in the Pacific is comparable in

strength to our group in Europe, about 1,000. It used to have

around 650 personnel but has recently been augmented for Vietnam.

Mr. MARTINY. Is the Saigon unit under the 6005th?

Colonel MEEK. Yes, sir.

Mr. MORRISON. Colonel, you were speaking about the air transportation of aircraft parts. Does that mail go by airmail rather than

surface?

Colonel ADCOCK. The high priority items go by airmail and the

balance by MOM or surface.

Mr. MORRISON. If all of it were airlifted at a reduced rate, wouldn't

all items go at the same cost and wouldn't it be a substantial savings

to the Government?

Colonel ADCOCK. If we eliminated the use of airmail and MOM at

current airlift rates, the savings would, of course, offset to some extent

the cost of airlifting the surface mail.

Mr. MORRISON. Would the same apply to personal mail?

Colonel ADCOCK. Yes; in this sense. At the present time, the military departments are paying the overseas airlift cost for all personal

and official mail. All personal mail to or from individuals at APO

addresses which bears airmail postage—letters, parcels newspapers,

magazines—receives commercial airlift at the airmail rate. The mill-
POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES 13

tary departments must pay this cost. If an acceptable service were

provided for first-class or so-called surface mail, individuals would

quite naturally stop paying the higher airmail postage rates and

would use instead, the lower class of service. To the extent that the

use of airmail is thereby reduced, the military airmail transportation

bill is reduced. Such' reduction in the amount of personal airmail,

just as in the case of reduction of official airmail—the aircraft parts—

we discussed previously, would help to offset the cost of a total airlift

program, provided, of course, that the price was right.

Mr. MORRISON. If we limited the parcels to 5 pounds, wouldn't that

hold down the cost?

Colonel ADCOCK. It might to a certain extent but I don't know how

we would hold down the splitting of shipments into 5-pound parcels

which gives us many more pieces to handle and probably, in the final

analysis, the same or greater total weight. If you are speaking solely

of 5-pound parcels, this does not take care of the letters, magazines,

and newspapers which are more truly in the time-value category.

Mr. HANLEY. I think we also must consider that the new air parcel

post zone rates are going to increase the use of airmail. Packages

that used to cost $3.85 in postage will now go for a little over $1. But

the military, is going to have to foot the bill for transportation. On

this basis, it is self-defeating for the DOD. I would think the military would like an alternative program that would reverse this trend

toward greater use of airmail.

Mr. JOHNSON. I had the opinion before this meeting that it would

take at least 10 airplanes a day to airlift all the APO mail. It seemed

like a big problem. But you say it would only take one airplane to

carry 64,000 pounds a day. It doesn't seem like such a prodigious

problem now.

Colonel ADCOCK. Sir, I don't want to leave the wrong impression.

Taken one by one, the airlift requirements of our several delivery

points would certainly appear to be within the current capability of

the carriers. But we have got to analyze the matter in the total context of airline capabilities versus combined civil and military requirements. For instance?I do not think it would be in the national interest

for us to lay on a mail airlift requirement in the Atlantic which might

dilute the airlift capability in the Pacific. Neither would we want to

stifle the orderly development of the carrier's commercial air cargo or

passenger business by preempting space that they might otherwise

use for higher revenue commodities. In the final analysis, I think we

must look to the airlines for an answer on the capability question.

Mr. JOHNSON. I appreciate your very objective view on this, Colonel

and I agree that we must assure ourselves specifically on the capability

question. But, I repeat that now that we have seen the surface mail

problem reduced to simple, exact proportions, it does not seem so

awesome. With as many scheduled flights as our American carriers

have across the Atlantic today, I will be very surprised if they can't

handle this mail without hurting their other military and commercial

commitments.

Mr. Poor,. Are the airlines operating with full loads these days?

Colonel ADCOCK. I do not know, but I feel that there are heavy days

and light days.
p.

14 POSTAL SERVICES OF U.S. ARMED FORCES

Mr. Poor,. I am sure they can give a little bit here and there. If

everyone acts in good faith, the airlines should be able to help our

program while, at the same time, gaining for themselves a fair and

reasonable return.

How about the free mail service? What is the attitude on that

from a morale angle?

Colonel ADCOCK. I would like to ask Colonel Meek to respond to

that question.

Colonel MEEK. Sir, we have not developed an official command position on the subject of free mail, but I feel that we don't really want

those things that look like giveaways. We would rather pay our own

way on a legitimate basis and get a meaningful service improvement

that would help everyone officially and personally than to have free

mail. Only in cases of operational necessity where it is not feasible

to have postage stamps available in the field would it be warranted.

Mr. MORRISON. Colonel Meek, on behalf of the committee I want

to thank you and Colonel Adcock for a splendid briefing and for your

candid, straightforward response to our questions. You have helped

us put a very complex problem into the proper perspective. I am sure

the Congress will profit greatly from the help you have given us here

when we take the matter up next January. We have enjoyed being

with you here in Frankfurt and want you to know that we are sincerely

impressed with the way the Air Force is running the postal business

in Europe. We want to look at some of your equipment problems when

we go through the terminal. I don't think you should have to stand

short on mail-handling equipment. If you are part of the U.S. postal

service you should have as good equipment as our civilian post offices

have and we'll give you all the help we can to get it. Again, thank you

for yourhelp to us here today.

( Whereupon, on November 24 1965, the subcommittees adjourned.)

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