Six to 22 pallets of mail arrive daily at Kandahar Airfield for members of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing deployed here. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
Senior Airman Matthew Holloway, 451 Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron mail augmentee, helps load packages during the daily mail run. Typically, the mail run is accomplished at 7 a.m. Monday - Friday and augmentees from the various expeditionary groups are assigned to help load, and sort mail. Depending on the day, there can be between six and 22 pallets of mail to be loaded. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
Senior Airman Shannon Koutsovalas, 451st Air Expeditionary Wing mail clerk, transports a truck-load of packages and mail back to Camp Losano for storage here July 31, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
Senior Airman Shannon Koutsovalas, 451st Air Expeditionary Wing mail clerk, checks address labels on packages to ensure they are sorted into the correct unit bins while unloading the mail truck near Camp Losano here July 31, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
Tech Sgt. Joseph Cavallaro, 451st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron mail augmentee, helps unload the mail truck outside Camp Losano here July 31, 2012. Mail is gathered at the post mail distribution center every morning and packages addressed to 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Airmen are secured in the conexes outside the camp. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Airmen unload mail at the conexes outside Camp Losano here July 31, 2012. The storage containers are separated by units in the wing allowing for ease of collection by unit mail representatives. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
Staff Sgt. Daida Garcia-Ortiz, 451st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron mail augmentee, separates unit packages into the appropriate bins in a conex outside Camp Losano here July 31, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
Packages and mail are secured outside Camp Losano here to ensure only unit mail representatives have access to the Airmen's postal goods. Daily, from 1 - 6 p.m., mail unit representatives can retrieve their unit's mail for distribution. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell Martin)
Airmen assigned to the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing here, sort through pallets of packages destined for deployed Airmen. The Kandahar Airfield post mail center sorts packages by wings, battalions and the various coalition forces and contractors deployed to KAF. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. James Martin)
Staff Sgt. Daida Garcia-Ortiz, 451st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron mail augmentee, stacks packages in the back of the mail truck July 31, 2012. Augmentees from each air expeditionary group rotate weekly to assist the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing mail clerk. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. James Martin)
by Master Sgt. James Martin
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
8/6/2012 - KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- On any given day in a small non-descript office on Camp Losano here, Airmen of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing peek their heads in and ask the question, "Is she here?"
The "she" they are referring to goes by many names: "K-10," "Santa Clause," and "Mail Girl," to name a few. But Senior Airman Shannon Koutsovalas, 451st AEW mail clerk manager from the 563rd Rescue Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., will answer to all of them.
More than 50,000 lbs of mail are delivered to Kandahar Airfield daily, according to the KAF Mail Center, and Koutsovalas is the project lead for 451st AEW to ensure Airmen get their portion of those deliveries. Mail consists of online orders, care packages from family members and friends, philanthropic organizations and charities, written correspondence and even dog food.
Deployment taskings and locations have evolved since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001. Bare-base living conditions coupled with limited communications made communication through written correspondence essential to the morale and welfare of deployed Airmen.
However, over time many facilities grew into hardened billets with all the amenities, including plumbing and increased internet access. But still, talking via web-cam or instant messenger with those back home still lacks the personal touch. That's where Koutsovalas comes in.
Koutsovalas manages the daily mail program for 21 units and more than 2,100 personnel. Fortunately, it is not a task she has to do alone. Every morning Koutsovalas rallies up her mail clerk augmentees for a ride over to the mail center. The 451st Expeditionary Mission Support Group, Operations Group and Maintenance Group each provides augmentees to assist the mail clerk on a weekly basis, providing five to seven personnel to help with the detail.
"They truly are a huge help," Airmen Koutsovalas said in regards to the mail augmentees. "You never know what you're going to get every morning heading over to the mail center. Sometimes you only have six pallets. But sometimes you have 10 or 12. One time I even had 22 pallets to go through. There's no way I'd be able to keep up with the program if it weren't for the augmentees helping out. They are as responsible for the success of the mail program as anyone."
During her three months deployed here the mail program manager has assisted with the unloading and delivery of more than 200 pallets of mail, weighing more than 246 tons. She has also improved the process in which units can collect their mail by reorganizing and reallocating pick-up bins in the three storage conexes for the 21 units she services, said Master Sgt. Veronica Haskin, 451st AEW command section superintendent.
"I remember how it felt when I first received my care package which was personally delivered from Shannon," said Haskin. "It's evident how much pride and joy she takes in helping improve morale to other personnel living and residing on Camp Losano every day. It really takes a passionate person to do this job, day-in-and day-out."
The perks of seeing the reactions personnel assigned to the base display are one thing, but it's not without its challenges.
"Sometimes you get crazy orders in, and you have to try and get them pushed out as fast as possible," Airman Koutsovalas said. "Just recently I received a package for an Airman that was nothing but dog food. Turned out it was a shipping error and the Airman didn't order it, however don't tell the ants in the conex that...they loved it."
