Mail not getting through on Ops
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Mail not getting through on Ops
Has anyone else on Ops had any problems with mail getting through? I Have heard rumours that the new system at Northolt has been having teething problems but Ive been waiting over a month for various parcels/letters now and have had the same problem with sending letters back. Anybody got an explanation?
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So now they've f**ked up the mail, as well as people's pay?
Next thing you know they'll stop feeding us....though doubtless the Ministry of Defensiveness will claim it is an 'isolated incident'.....
Next thing you know they'll stop feeding us....though doubtless the Ministry of Defensiveness will claim it is an 'isolated incident'.....
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I've just spent 4 months in Kabul.
It was routinely taking 18 days for letters and over a month for parcels (2kg limit). Eblueys were anywhere from a day to a week - depending on the printer working!
The US have a great system - up to 31Kgs per parcel, each way, FREE! It took 7 days for two 20kg boxes to come from Kabul to an American serviceman I work with. The US postal system flys it stuff via contract/commercial and dos not rely upon space available on Mil flights.
At least emails get through quickly....
It was routinely taking 18 days for letters and over a month for parcels (2kg limit). Eblueys were anywhere from a day to a week - depending on the printer working!
The US have a great system - up to 31Kgs per parcel, each way, FREE! It took 7 days for two 20kg boxes to come from Kabul to an American serviceman I work with. The US postal system flys it stuff via contract/commercial and dos not rely upon space available on Mil flights.
At least emails get through quickly....
Gentleman Aviator
As TheInquisitor says, it's the thin end of the classic "meals mails money makes morale".
And what of the cliche visiting senior officer's remark to the deployed troops:
"Food OK? Boots fit? Mail getting through?"
Answers now: "Yes, only if I buy my own and no sir!"
And what of the cliche visiting senior officer's remark to the deployed troops:
"Food OK? Boots fit? Mail getting through?"
Answers now: "Yes, only if I buy my own and no sir!"
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On a comfy op in Qatar, Blueys take between 10 and 16 days to arrive, and a parcel anything upto 3 weeks. My other half posted a card with a stamp via Royal Mail, not RAF Mail and it arrived in 48 hours!!
Good luck to you all in the not so nice areas on ops.
Good luck to you all in the not so nice areas on ops.
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Perhaps.. the synergy isn't there at the moment? No one has yet been asked to arrive at an innovative, far reaching and underpinning solution, delivered in a passionate, prudent and cohesive manner.
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I don't wish to use the tragic death of Capt Phillipson to make a cheap point, but it would seem that mail continues to be the least of our soldier's worries.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/b...ts/7245533.stm
<The army has admitted vital equipment was sent to Afghanistan 25 days late, arriving after the first British soldier died in Helmand Province. Capt James Philippson, 29, was the first casualty after troops were deployed in the region in June 2006. In a statement, the MoD said it was a "regrettable administrative error". The Board of Inquiry reports that [a failure to] follow the correct staff procedures.. "This was a regrettable administrative error, albeit one that occurred in difficult circumstances.">
Was the coffee pot in the HQ canteen not working, or was there something else similarly catastrophic to cope with?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/b...ts/7245533.stm
<The army has admitted vital equipment was sent to Afghanistan 25 days late, arriving after the first British soldier died in Helmand Province. Capt James Philippson, 29, was the first casualty after troops were deployed in the region in June 2006. In a statement, the MoD said it was a "regrettable administrative error". The Board of Inquiry reports that [a failure to] follow the correct staff procedures.. "This was a regrettable administrative error, albeit one that occurred in difficult circumstances.">
Was the coffee pot in the HQ canteen not working, or was there something else similarly catastrophic to cope with?
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The 'new system at Northolt' is basically a move of BFPO from Mill Hill to a purpose built facility that just happens to be at Northolt (good location for interaction with Royal Mail etc). The new facility has all mod cons it seems (including less people I guess) and as such was seen as a big step forward by BFPO (or at least some of them). As someone sitting is 'Stan at the moment it is taking anything between 10 days and 3 weeks for blueys getting to me from another BFPO address (in Europe) and up to a month for parcels less than 2kg. The same for me sending things back home. Bloody annoying.
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It all came to a bit of a head in the second week of Dec, I understand. When complaints of delays came flooding in, there was a stony silence from 'the management' (the BFPO management, not deployed Cdrs). The most they would say is that the free 2kg parcel post had had a far greater effect than had been expected!
So the problems were nothing to do with:
a. Moving the BFPO in October/November just ahead of the busiest time of the year, mail-wise.
b. The rumours (more than rumours if your follow ARRSE) of unsafe machines and workers' strikes.
c. An almost complete change of personnel resulting in the move from Mill Hill....
d. ....combined with fewer workers as the new system is 'more efficient'
I am on the same "comfy op" as you, nealgardner and 10 days ago I received a parcel postmarked 7 Dec....it might be better now but it was bloody terrible over Christmas. And if it was bad here (given our position on the Charter route) what must it have been for the boys and girls in Lash and elsewhere?
So the problems were nothing to do with:
a. Moving the BFPO in October/November just ahead of the busiest time of the year, mail-wise.
b. The rumours (more than rumours if your follow ARRSE) of unsafe machines and workers' strikes.
c. An almost complete change of personnel resulting in the move from Mill Hill....
d. ....combined with fewer workers as the new system is 'more efficient'
I am on the same "comfy op" as you, nealgardner and 10 days ago I received a parcel postmarked 7 Dec....it might be better now but it was bloody terrible over Christmas. And if it was bad here (given our position on the Charter route) what must it have been for the boys and girls in Lash and elsewhere?
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"....what must it have been for the boys and girls in Lash and elsewhere?"
To be honest "variable". Some post seemed to get to some people quite quickly whilst others were less lucky. Over Christmas we received a great deal of post (a veritable torrent) but that was due to the generosity of the British Public and it wasn't representative of the normal level of mail coming into theatre. I'm still amazed how much was shifted and not just to the hubs but up to where it was really needed, in the FOBs. Average time for post here now? - I guess 10 to 14 days. Whoops, that was nearly a "line to take"!
To be honest "variable". Some post seemed to get to some people quite quickly whilst others were less lucky. Over Christmas we received a great deal of post (a veritable torrent) but that was due to the generosity of the British Public and it wasn't representative of the normal level of mail coming into theatre. I'm still amazed how much was shifted and not just to the hubs but up to where it was really needed, in the FOBs. Average time for post here now? - I guess 10 to 14 days. Whoops, that was nearly a "line to take"!
Its not just ops - all BFPO mail was shocking over christmas. There were huge piles of mail stuck at Northolt (there was even a picture in Soldier magazine) and they just sorted what was put on top. This meant magazines/papers from early Dec arrived in late Jan. According to Chief Postie (not called Pat disaapointingly) the backlog is clear, much of the blame was laid at teething problems and a huge surge in stuff due to the free postage.
Another snag is a lot of the sorting is done by electronic scanning - this scanner has a habit of picking up the senders BFPO address on the back of a parcel so we have been receiving a lot of our parcels back. Very frustrating and we don't have an enemy to worry about. Godspeed to all on ops
Another snag is a lot of the sorting is done by electronic scanning - this scanner has a habit of picking up the senders BFPO address on the back of a parcel so we have been receiving a lot of our parcels back. Very frustrating and we don't have an enemy to worry about. Godspeed to all on ops
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Post thru BZZ does not sit on site for long and is always booked to the first available jet and is never loaded on a 'top-up' basis. Indeed if there is ever spare capacity then the movers bring the mail forward to the earlier jet. Trying to streamline the efficiency in-theatre BST mail is built onto separate pallets to speed up the transfer on to the local in theatre AT. Xmas post was expedited out of this Oxon airhead. 1500-1800 mail sacks a day was not uncommon from the mail depot with acft pllts being built as they arrived. Papers tend to be delivered 3/4 times per week in to BZZ for the various locations and I have never seen them on the hgr floor longer than 4/5 days. I hear that what is needed is an increase in the local in-theatre AT to clear the backlog of cargo pllts held on hand, these are the what the papers get loaded to.
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Bloody Terrible!
The mail system is a total disgrace! I can't believe when so many guys and gals are out there risking their lives, post is taking anywhere between two weeks and two months to arrive.
Like nealgardner,I have managed to land myself on a decent det, I'm out in Oman. My missus and mum sent me a parcel at the same time, from the same post office. My mums arrived two and a half weeks later, the other three and a half weeks later.
How the hell do they send mail at the BFPO? BA runs a daily flight into Oman, I see it almost every night.
To top it off, I also heard that the BFPO won some sort of award just before christmas for its "service". Thats after they apparently burned thousands of mail they had backed up.
As I say, I've got a fairly easy det out here. Its the poor buggers in Iraq and Afghan that I feel sorry for. I'd quite happily wait a month for my stuff if it meant those guys got theirs in a week, sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Shame on you BFPO and the MOD
Like nealgardner,I have managed to land myself on a decent det, I'm out in Oman. My missus and mum sent me a parcel at the same time, from the same post office. My mums arrived two and a half weeks later, the other three and a half weeks later.
How the hell do they send mail at the BFPO? BA runs a daily flight into Oman, I see it almost every night.
To top it off, I also heard that the BFPO won some sort of award just before christmas for its "service". Thats after they apparently burned thousands of mail they had backed up.
As I say, I've got a fairly easy det out here. Its the poor buggers in Iraq and Afghan that I feel sorry for. I'd quite happily wait a month for my stuff if it meant those guys got theirs in a week, sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Shame on you BFPO and the MOD
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Downright Awful
The BFPO system is shameful to say the least.
There are letters and parcels still turning up here that were sent out in November!! No doubt they were meant to be Christmas presents and some of the guys or gals have returned to the UK, lets hope not in body bags from the hotter places. Standard blueys seem to be taking anything from 1-2 weeks and cards or other mail more than 3 weeks!!
Meanwhile mail home takes less than 1 week, can anyone explain the difference? Apart from maybe that it gets straight onto a BA flight and goes into the commercial system back in the UK and going no where near BFPO!
The only thing I can suggest is that our wives, partners, parents, friends etc etc send a formal letter of complaint into their MP maybe that will get some questions asked in the house. The system used to work but slightly slowly now I reckon Pony Mail would be quicker.
There are letters and parcels still turning up here that were sent out in November!! No doubt they were meant to be Christmas presents and some of the guys or gals have returned to the UK, lets hope not in body bags from the hotter places. Standard blueys seem to be taking anything from 1-2 weeks and cards or other mail more than 3 weeks!!
Meanwhile mail home takes less than 1 week, can anyone explain the difference? Apart from maybe that it gets straight onto a BA flight and goes into the commercial system back in the UK and going no where near BFPO!
The only thing I can suggest is that our wives, partners, parents, friends etc etc send a formal letter of complaint into their MP maybe that will get some questions asked in the house. The system used to work but slightly slowly now I reckon Pony Mail would be quicker.
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Mail home to UK taking 1 week...
It aint rocket science....!!! not wishing to sound patronising BUT !!
In theatre you are relying on in theatre assets, maybe 2/3 c130's to move troops and spare etc.... items on return to UK have more assets available.
Mail has been and unless the rules have changed (demobbed 4yrs ago) will always be considered a High Priority...exception being parcels...!!!
parcels were in my day classed as surface freight and as such are loaded to the RAFAT fleet on a fill up basis... ie they are the same category as indulgence freight....
In the pecking order of loading, aircraft spares/ammo/rations/mail were always in the top 4 !! for obvious reasons...
Being at both ends of the spectrum on ops and the standard det to the SA Death Star and waiting for the mail, knowing how the system operates, it doesn't faze me...these things take time.... the nature of the beast....
Also, i know from experience, that the Movers work hard alongside the Posties to try to ensure as much mail is moved as possible...
Sadly, everyone thinks they can do everyone elses job these days....this is not the case...
We can do our own jobs well, but sadly there are those who think they can do better...!!
Mail home to UK taking 1 week...
It aint rocket science....!!! not wishing to sound patronising BUT !!
In theatre you are relying on in theatre assets, maybe 2/3 c130's to move troops and spare etc.... items on return to UK have more assets available.
Mail has been and unless the rules have changed (demobbed 4yrs ago) will always be considered a High Priority...exception being parcels...!!!
parcels were in my day classed as surface freight and as such are loaded to the RAFAT fleet on a fill up basis... ie they are the same category as indulgence freight....
In the pecking order of loading, aircraft spares/ammo/rations/mail were always in the top 4 !! for obvious reasons...
Being at both ends of the spectrum on ops and the standard det to the SA Death Star and waiting for the mail, knowing how the system operates, it doesn't faze me...these things take time.... the nature of the beast....
Also, i know from experience, that the Movers work hard alongside the Posties to try to ensure as much mail is moved as possible...
Sadly, everyone thinks they can do everyone elses job these days....this is not the case...
We can do our own jobs well, but sadly there are those who think they can do better...!!
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e bluey delay?
I have been sending eBluey's to Tellic with no problems until the middle of this week when they all appear to have arrived at the BFPO server but have not managed to get any further. Anyone else had this problem?
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Anybody else out there remember weekly flights of Gan's 'Sticky Brit'? 
Mail always got through in the 'old' days without the benefit of modern computer controlled equipment and stuff.
Mail always got through in the 'old' days without the benefit of modern computer controlled equipment and stuff.
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Logistics Loader the issue is not with the in-theatre end! The movers and posties out here have done what they can and more than once in the last 5 months I have been on a C-17/C-130/Other type as appropriate out to AFG that would have had room for a few bags of mail. The problem throughout the entire debacle has been located fairly and squarely at Northolt i.e. the BFPO depot and the way that they have chosen to address the issue i.e current mail first/backlog last.
Quite frankly the whole thing was a complete joke until January when formal letters and reports started to bring the issue up.
Complete bollox in my view.
SBG
Quite frankly the whole thing was a complete joke until January when formal letters and reports started to bring the issue up.
Complete bollox in my view.
SBG