GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Jacksonville is pleased to announce the start of work on a $3 million contract, awarded by NAVFAC to Centerra Integrated Services, LLC, for the conversion of building 834 at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), Cuba. The renovated facility will soon be a new home to NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville Postal Operations.

The current post office, building 838, has been in use for more than 70 years and has undergone many renovation and repairs. In recent years it has routinely served the more than 6,000 residents of NSGB as well as ships in the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet area of operations, processing an average of 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of mail each week. During the holiday season those figures can easily double.

Efforts to overhaul the post office at NSGB have been ongoing since the 1980’s, but until recently had been eclipsed by other essential projects. In 2019, a team from NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville, including Postal Officer, Larry Amis; Deputy Site Director, Ken Feiereisen; and Six Sigma Command Deployment Champion, Ricky Toups, coordinated detailed input for NAVFAC on the building design proposal.

When asked why it was important for NAVFAC to pursue this conversion project, NAVFAC Public Works Department’s construction manager at NSGB, Ens. Joel Estes added, “After decades of service, the existing post office has performed well past its mission objectives, and the renovation of building 843 into the new post office is critical for the postal service to successfully continue their mission on Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.”

The new post office design aims to offer a significantly improved customer experience and dramatically improve working conditions for the postal operations team. According to Estes, “The converted space will contain open office spaces, private offices, a public lobby, regulated mail room, copy area, multipurpose room, postal supply room, as well as a middle and back deck area for mail sorting and palletizing. All areas within the new building will be designed to meet NFPA/Life Safety Standards and the International Building Code. Additionally, parking and outdoor storage areas will be increased.”

Some benefits of the planned upgrades include equitable access to the facility for those with physical disabilities; an elimination of mail processing choke points; a reduction in manual labor, thanks to a modernization of processing equipment; round the clock access to mail and email notification via intelligent mail lockers; and ample interior space for mail awaiting processing. The post office relocation will increase convenience for customers as it moves to the central service area of the base with parking and a bus stop.

Postal Officer Larry Amis stated, “Our local residents have been patient and understanding of the complexities of mail handling at NSGB. While this upgrade won’t change the transit times to and from the island, we do expect the new facility will allow us to make some local process improvements. Certainly there will be a noticeable improvement to the in-person customer experience.” Amis added, “If all goes as planned, we hope to welcome residents to their new post office by August of 2021.”

NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville is one of eight FLCs under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel,

NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter.

Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.
Get more information about the Navy from US Navy Facebook or twitter.
For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/navsup/.