Jolly blue and green camo-clad elves emerge from their workshops and begin unloading and scanning holiday packages as the Fleet Mail Center Sigonella ramps up for its most wonderful time-and most busy time-of the year.

It's a chilly morning as far as Sicilian mornings go. Lt. Joseph Green adjusts his cover and shades his eyes from the sun that dances across the postal truck's exterior. "Back it up. Slowly. Slower. Good!" And just like that, jolly blue and green camo-clad elves emerge from their workshops and begin unloading and scanning holiday packages as the Fleet Mail Center Sigonella ramps up for its most wonderful time-and most busy time-of the year.

Lead Elf and Director of the Fleet Mail Center, Lt. Joseph Green, says, "The holidays are the most important time of the year for the FMC. Not because our days are busier and longer, but because the impact of not delivering the mail has vast affects. Whether it's receiving care packages from your parents, or a card from a friend, receiving mail exponentially increases moral-and that's what we do here. We deliver joy by ensuring that the Sailors who may not be able to sit down and have sour cream latkes or a Christmas ham or Cajun catfish-still receive a taste of home."

Every deployed sailor experiences the sheer pleasure that receiving mail brings, especially around the holidays. Here in Sigonella, Sicily, sailors and civilians who are also separated from family and friends by a vast ocean, experience a similar feeling receiving mail.

The Fleet Mail Center (FMC) Sigonella routinely services deployed units operating in the Mediterranean as well as tenant commands on Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella. Fleet Mail Center Sigonella supports mail storage and transportation for more than 20 ships throughout the year. An average month will see about 55,000 pounds of mail. During the holidays, the hard-working elves at the FMC dispatch a skyrocketing 88,000 pounds of mail-a 160% increase!

In order to support the holiday surge, planning begins nearly six months in advance. The base release messages on important mailing dates, the postal team determines holiday hours, and the operations team requests reservists to support during the holiday rush. This year, the FMC extended hours in the morning to open at 8:00 a.m. though Dec. 21st, and the post office on NAS 1 will open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve for all the last-minute parcel arrivals. Between Thanksgiving and before New Year's, five Navy reservists supported the FMC from the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Sigonella's reserve unit headquartered out of the Navy Operational Support Center Fort Worth, Texas.

"There's nothing quite like this job," says Green. "I know that every day I come to work my team is making a difference for so many people, and nothing beats that feeling."

NAVSUP FLC Sigonella stands ready to fulfill logistic responsibilities and serves as a vital link to enable mission success. NAVSUP FLC Sigonella is one of eight fleet logistics centers under NAVSUP, which provides global logistics, business and support services to fleet, shore and industrial commands of the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army and allied forces. Services include contracting, regional transportation, fuel, material management, household goods movement support, postal and consolidated mail, warehousing, global logistics and husbanding, hazardous material management, and integrated logistics support.


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