Document text
n
-Si'
' FM 12-105
WAR DEPARTMENT
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S
FIELD MANUAL
THE ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
FM 13-105
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
THE ARUY POSTAL SKRVICE
Usances] \ v 7 - WAR DEPARTMENT,
FM 12-105, November 12, 1940, is changed as follows:
El 20. Service at Posts, Camps, and Stations. — a. (1) Deliv-
ery. — Except as prescribed in (3) below, the local agency of the
Tost Office Department segregates all classes of incoming mail
by regiment or separate unit if possible and delivers it to per-
sonnel designated by commanding officers for distribution
to troops.
$ a a # e * »
[A. G. 062.11 (G-2-41).] (C 2, Jan. 1G. 1942.)
By order of the Secretary of War:
*These changes supersede section II f Training Circular No. 41, War De-
partment, 1941.
Washington, January 16, 1942.
G. C. MARSHALL,
Chief of Stuff.
Official :
E. S. ADAMS,
Major General,
The Adjutant General.
430537° — 42
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1941
FM 12-105
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S
FIELD MANUAL
THE ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
Prepared under direction of
The Adjutant General
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1940
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Washington, November 12, 1940.
FM 12-105, Adjutant General's Field Manual, The Army
Postal Service, is published for the information and guidance
of all concerned.
[A.G. 062.11 (9-9-tO).]
. By order of the Secretary op War :
• G. C. MARSHALL,
Chief of Staff.
Official :
E. S. ADAMS,
Major General,
The Adjutant General.
n
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section I. General Provisions. Paragraph Page
Definitions 1 1
Responsibility for postal service 2 2
Mission of the Army Postal Service 3 3
Importance of, responsibility 4 3
Censorship 5 ' 3
Correct method of addressing mail
for the Army in the theater of
operations 6 3
Soldier's mail 7 4
Registered, official mail 8 5
II. Organization.
General 9 5
In peace 10 6
Upon mobilization 11 6
Chief of the Army Postal Service 12 7
Sections of the Postal Division 13 7
Administration and personnel sec-
tion 14 7
Inspection and training section 15 7
Post office section : 16 8
Transportation section 17 9
Supply section 18 9
III. Postal Service in the Zone op the
Interior.
The Post Office Department ^_ 19 9
Service at posts, camps, . and sta-
tions 20 9
Postal concentration centers—. 21 lo
Miscellaneous 22 12
Section IV. Postal Service in the Theater op
Operations.
Army postal agencies 23 13
Field postal officers 24 14
Army post offices 25 15
Typical organization 26 17
Base post office 27 23
Theater directory service 28 24
Army post offices at hospital
centers 29 25
Postal regulating sections 30 25
Transportation of the mail 31 26
Service by rail 32 27
Motor truck lines '33 28
Boat lines 34 28
Animal-drawn vehicles 35 28
Air mail routes 36 28
Motor dispatch service 37 28
Army courier service 38 29
Postal supplies and supply depots-. 39 30
III
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section V. Postal Service of a Division, Corps,
and Army in the Theater of
Operations. Paragraph Page
General 40 32
Divisional postal officer 41 32
Division main post office 42 32
Division headquarters" branch post
office 43 33
Regimental mail service 44 34
Regimental mail personnel 45 34
Unit mail orderlies 46 34
Corps postal service 47 40
Army postal service 48 41
VI. Civilian Population in the Theater
of Operations.
General 49 41
In United States territory 50 41
In occupied enemy territory 51 42
Appendix — General agreement between the U. S. Post
Office Department and the War Depart-
ment concerning Army Postal Service 43
Index 51
IV
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
THE ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
Section I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
■ 1. Definitions.
Army post office or A.P.O. — A military station set up in the
field at or near the headquarters or military unit it serves.
These will be designated by numbers (see par. 25d) .
Base post office. — A military station set up at a convenient
point in the communication zone or at a port, at which to
separate and route the bulk mail for troops in a certain
area.
Combat zone. — That part of a theater of operations re-
quired for the active operations and immediate administra-
tion of the troops therein. It is divided into army, corps,
and division areas, each comprising the zone of operations
of the unit to which it pertains.
Communications zone. — That part of a theater of oper-
ations in the rear of the combat zone containing the estab-
lishments of supply and evacuation, lines of communication,
and other agencies necessary for the administration of the
theater as a whole.
Post office. — A regular United States Post Office or station
established for the purpose of transacting postal business.
Postal concentration center. — A post office or agency of the
Post Office Department, established near the rear boundary
of a theater, at which all mail originating in the zone of the
interior for troops in the theater of operations is brought
together for sorting.
Postal officer. — An officer on the division and higher staff,
or a designated officer in smaller units, who under The Ad-
jutant Genera], or adjutant, is charged with the immediate
supervision of postal activities within the command.
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ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
Postal regulating section. — The section of an Army regu-
lating station that controls the routing of mail to and from
that part of the theater of operations being supplied through
that station.
Railhead. — A point usually on a railroad at which supplies
from the communications zone are turned over to troops for
their use.
Regimental (organizational) postal personnel. — Personnel
(including also company, troop, and battery mail orderlies)
detailed by regimental commanders to operate the regimental
mail service. Instructions for this personnel apply with equal
force to separate battalions and analogous organizations.
Regulating station. — A traffic control agency established on
lines of communication and through which movements are
directed and controlled by the commander of the theater of
operations.
Theater directory service. — A service furnished in the
theater of operations by the adjutant general of general head-
quarters, and of each theater having a separate headquarters,
for supplying correct addresses for mail which cannot be
delivered by Army post offices.
Theater of operations. — Areas of land and sea it is desired
to invade or defend, including what is necessary for adminis-
trative establishments and agencies pertaining to the forces
in the theater. There may be one, two, or several theaters
of operation.
Theater of war. — Comprises those areas of land and sea
which are or may become directly involved in the operations
of war.
Unit mail orderly. — An enlisted man detailed by the com-
mander of a company or similar unit to receive and deliver
incoming mail, dispatch outgoing mail, and make proper
disposition of undeliverable mail. Mail orderlies ordinarily
operate under the supervision of the regimental (or similar
organization) postal officer.
Zone of the interior. — That part of the national territory
not included in theaters of operations.
■ 2. Responsibility for Postal Service. — a. Zone of the in-
terior. — Postal service in the zone of the interior is a func-
tion of the Post Office Department.
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ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
2-6
b. Theater of operations. — Except under the conditions
referred to in paragraph 50a and b, the Army Postal Service
is responsible for the postal service in theaters of operations.
■ 3. Mission of the Army Postal Service. — Upon mobiliza-
tion, the Army Postal Service, operating as an activity of the
Adjutant General's Department, provides postal service for the
Army of the United States. This will be accomplished as
follows:
a. In the zone of the interior. — By assisting the Post Office
Department to the extent agreed upon with that agency of the
government.
b. In a theater of operations. — By establishing and oper-
ating postal service for all personnel and services of the field
forces. Except when specifically authorized in this manual,
civilian postal personnel will not operate in a theater of
operations.
■ 4. Importance of Responsibility. — As a factor in the main-
tenance of the morale of an Army, the importance of an
efficient postal service cannot be overestimated. All com-
manders, from the highest to the lowest, are responsible for
the efficiency of the postal service within their commands.
■ 5. Censorship. — See FM 30-25.
■ 6. Correct Method of Addressing Mail for the Army in
the Theater of Operations. — a. Mail addressed to members of
the Army in the theater of operations should clearly show
the—
(1) Grade, first name in full, middle name in full, and last
name of the person addressed, followed by his Army serial
number, if known.
' (2) Letter or number of the company or other similar or-
ganization of which the soldier is a member.
(3) Designation of the regiment or separate battalion, if.
any, to which the company belongs.
(4) Army post office number, if known.
(5) Name and address of the sender, in the upper left
corner.
b. There should be sufficient space to the left of the ad-
dress to allow for indorsements by forwarding agencies (see
3
6-7
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
par. 46d) , should it not be possible to deliver the piece of mail
at the address given.
c. Under no circumstances will the location of the organi-
zation be given.
d. The following is an example of a correctly addressed
envelope :
Prom Richard R. Roe, (STAMP)
165 E St.,
Kokomo, Ind.
Private John Robbins Doe (Army serial No.)
Company P,
167th Infantry,
APO
■ 7. Soldier's Mail. — a. Ordinary mail. — (1) Contingent
upon appropriate legislation and subject to such additional
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Postmaster
General upon the outbreak of an emergency, letters and
postal cards from officers and enlisted men of the Army, Navy,
or Marine Corps, mailed in a United States or Army post
office will be accepted and transmitted in the mails, free of
postage, to all points in the United States, provided the
grade and name of the sender, together with the words
"U. S. Army," "U. S. Navy," or "U. S. Marine Corps," are
written in the upper left corner of the face of the envelope
or postal card, e. g.:
Pvt. John R. Doe,
Co. P, 167 Inf. APO — ,
U. S. Army.
Mr. Richard R. Roe,
165 E L_.i St.,
Kokomo,
Indiana.
4
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
7-9
(2) The notation "soldier's mail" is neither necessary nor
desirable.
b. Registered matter. — Letters. — Letters addressed to
points in the United States or its possessions will be registered
upon payment of the registry fee prescribed by the Post Office
Department; stamps of the required amount to be affixed to
the letter.
(2) Parcels. — Parcels will be registered upon payment of
first class postage in addition to the registry fee. The weight
limit of parcels will be governed by regulations of the Post
Office Department and any special restrictions prescribed by
the War Department.
(3) Currency. — Neither coin nor paper money should be
transferred from the theater of operations by registered mail,
but United States Treasury checks issued by disbursing officers
without charge in exchange for cash may be sent by regis-
tered mail. Sale of money orders by an Army Post Office is
not contemplated. (See par. 26a(3).)
(4) Special delivery. — No special-delivery service will be
given mail addressed to troops in a theater of operations.
■ 8. Registered Official Mail. — a. For zone of the interior
or United States possessions. — Official mail matter, either
letters or parcels, for the zone of the interior or possessions of
the United States will be registered only upon payment of
the registry fee prescribed by the Post Office Department;
stamps of the required amount to be affixed to the article.
b. Within theater of operations. — Official mail from one
Army post office to another, both within the theater of opera-
tions, may be registered without payment of any registry fee.
Section II
ORGANIZATION
■ 9. General. — a. Branch of the Adjutant General's Depart-
ment. — The Army Postal Service is an activity of the Adju-
tant General's Department.
b. Applicable laws and regulations. — These regulations sup-
plemented by the Postal Laws and Regulations and the prac-
tice of the Post Office Department, modified to meet the needs
271749°— 40 2
5
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ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
of the Army in time of war, govern the organization and
operation of the Army Postal Service.
■ 10. In Peace. — In time of peace, the Army Postal Service
consists of —
a. Such officers as may be assigned to postal duty.
b. Such postal units as may be organized.
■ 11. Upon Mobilization. — a. At Washington, D. C. — The
Adjutant General will establish in Washington, D. C, the
necessary facilities for supervising the operation of the Army
Postal Service and to maintain liaison with the Post Office
Department.
b. At corps area and department headquarters. — The adju-
tant general's section of each corps area and department
headquarters will maintain liaison with the appropriate local
postal authorities on matters pertaining to postal service for
troops serving within the corps area or department and to
furnish information as to the location of and changes in
location of posts, camps, stations, and similar agencies of the
War Department in the corps area or department, of the
number and identity of troops allotted to each, of the time
when they will arrive, and of the approximate time they will
remain (see par. 21e). (The Post Office Department has
agreed to designate a representative in each corps area to
facilitate the above.)
c. In the field. — (1) All units and personnel of the Army
Postal Service in the field will be assigned or attached to
appropriate commands, and will be directly under the com-
mand of the commanders of the organizations to which so
assigned or attached. Such supervision, inspection, and tech-
nical control of the postal service of lower units as may be
exercised by officers of the Army Postal Service, assigned or
attached to the headquarters of higher units, will be by
authority of the commanders of the organization to which
these officers are assigned or attached and under the control
of these commanders.
(2) At general headquarters in the field and at the head-
quarters of each separate theater of operations, if more than
one, a postal organization will be included in the adjutant
6
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
1.1-15
general's section similar to that in The Adjutant General's
Office in Washington, D. C. (See par. 13.)
(3) Ordinarily personnel or units of the Army Postal Serv-
ice will not be assigned or attached to tactical units smaller
than the division. The Army Postal Service will deliver in-
coming and collect outgoing mail from subordinate head-,
quarters or such other place as the subordinate commander
may designate; distribution and collection within the organi-
zation being the responsibility of the Commander concerned.
(See par. 45.)
■ 12. Chief of the Army Postal Service. — a. Responsibil-
ity. — Under The Adjutant General the Chief of the Army
Postal Service is charged with the immediate supervision of
the Army Postal Service.
b. Duties. — Subject to the provisions of paragraph lle(l),
his duties will include —
(1) Supervision of the organization, training, and operation
of the Army Postal Service.
(2) Preparation of the necessary manuals and training lit-
erature covering the instruction, training, and operation of
the Army Postal Service.
(3) Representation of the War Department on all postal
questions of general policy which may arise between the United
States Post Office Department and the War Department.
■ 13. Sections of the Postal Division. — The Postal Division
of The Adjutant General's Office will be organized in five
sections as follows:
Administration and personnel section.
Inspection and training section.
Post office section.
Transportation section.
Supply section.
■ 14. Administration and Personnel Section.— This section
supervises and coordinates the work of the Postal Division and
keeps the personnel records of the civilian members thereof.
■ 15. Inspection and Training Section. — a. Inspection
group. — (1) Receives all reports of irregularities and com-
plaints made to the War Department by military authorities
7
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ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
with reference to the mail service rendered by agencies of the
Post Office Department at posts, camps, and stations of the
Army.
(2) Forwards to the Post Office Department, accompanied
by appropriate corrective recommendations, reports of such of
.these irregularities and complaints as cannot be remedied by
the corps area commander concerned and the representative
of the United States Post Office Department at corps area
headquarters. (See par. lib.)
(3) Recommends appropriate action on complaints made
by the Post Office Department against the military authorities
at posts, camps, and stations of the Army.
(4) Recommends appropriate action on any irregularities
reported or complaints received concerning the Army Postal
Service in the theater of operations.
b. Training group. — (1) Supervises, under War Depart-
ment policies, the training and instruction of —
(a) The Army Postal Service.
(b) Personnel of regiments and companies and analogous
organizations detailed by commanding officers for postal duty.
(See par. 44.)
(2) Arranges with the United States Post Office Depart-
ment for the practical training of personnel and units of the
Army Postal Service, while still in the zone of the interior, by
assisting local postal authorities in the handling of mail.
Members of the Army Postal Service will not, however, be
used as mail orderlies.
(3) Organizes and operates such Army Postal Service
schools as may be established.
■ 16. Post Office Section. — a. This section is charged with
general supervision over the mobilization and equipping of
Army post offices.
b. In the zone of the interior this section cooperates with
and assists the Post Office Department as necessary. It keeps
the Post Office Department informed of all corps area troop
movements and of troop movements to and from the theaters
of operations. Through troop location groups maintained at
postal concentration centers this section also furnishes the
Post Office Department such information as may be necessary
8
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
16-20
to enable such centers to forward mail to the proper destina-
tion in the theaters of operations.
■ 17. Transportation Section. — a. This section is charged
with general supervision over the transportation of mail to
and from the theaters of operations.
b. In the zone of the interior this section assists the Post
Office Department, when so requested, by arranging at mili-
tary posts, camps, and stations for the transportation of mail
both incoming and outgoing between the railroad station or
other source of supply, and the agency of the Post Office
Department established at the designated camp, post, or sta-
tion post office.
■ 18. Supply Section. — This section is charged with the pro-
curement and issue of all postal supplies required by the Army
Postal Service, such as postal forms and blanks, stationery,
typewriters, office supplies and furniture, safes, and other
similar articles. Supplies of a strictly postal nature which are
used by the Post Office Department are procured from that
department, under an agreement between it and the War
Department. All other supplies are secured through requisi-
tion to the proper supply services.
Section III
POSTAL SERVICE IN THE ZONE OP THE INTERIOR
■ 19. The Post Office Department. — Upon notice from the
War Department, the Post Office Department expands its serv-
ice to meet the added requirements of troops at mobilization
points.
■ 20. Service at Posts, Camps, and Stations. — a. (1) De-
livery. — Except as prescribed in (3) below, the local agency of
the Post Office Department segregates all classes of incoming
mail by companies if possible and delivers it to personnel
designated by commanding officers, for distribution to troops.
(2) Collection. — All outgoing mail is collected from the
troops by personnel designated by commanding officers and
delivered to the local agency of the Post Office Department for
dispatch.
9
20-21 ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
(3) C.O.D. mail. — No C.O.D. mail will be turned over to
the military personnel for delivery.
(4) Registered or insured mail. — Receipts will be taken by
the agency of the Post Office Department for all registered or
insured mail turned over to personnel designated by com-
manding officers, for delivery to troops. Likewise, the agency
of the Post Office Department will furnish the personnel
designated by commanding officers with receipts for all regis-
tered mail delivered to such agency for dispatch.
b. Maneuvers. — Postal service during large scale maneuvers
will be the subject of special instruction.
■ 21. Postal Concentration Centers. — a. Location; how de-
termined. — The location of postal concentration centers in
the zone of the interior, usually near the rear boundary of the
theater of operations, is determined by agreement between
the Post Office Department and the War Department.
b. Organization, equipment, and operation. — Postal con-
centration centers are organized, equipped, and operated by
the Post Office Department.
c. Mail for theater of operations. — Mail destined for the
theater of operations is shipped by the Post Office Depart-
ment to postal concentration centers in the zone of the
interior, where it is disposed of as follows:
(1) Segregation. — Mail is segregated by —
(a) Divisions (down to regiments, and, if possible, smaller
units) .
(b) Corps (nondivisional, corps troops, only).
(c) Armies (troops exclusive of corps and divisions) .
(d) Theaters of operations (exclusive of (a) to (c) above).
(2) Undeliverable mail. — Undeliverable mail is intercepted
and returned directly to the writer, if known, for correct
addressing. When no return address is given, it is disposed
of by the Post Office Department in accordance with postal
regulations.
(3) Deliverable mail. — Deliverable mail is sorted and
tagged by personnel of the Post Office Department, in accord-
ance with lists furnished by the troop location group (see
Par. 16b and e below) of the Army Postal Service on duty
at each postal concentration center.
10
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
21
(4) Shipment to theater of operations. — The mail is then
dispatched (see e(3) below) by the Post Office Department
to the designated base post office or regulating station in the
theater of operations for delivery by the Army Postal Service
to the troops.
(5) Receipts.— Receipts showing the total number of
pouches or sacks of ordinary and registered mail dispatched
to the theater of operations, prepared at the postal concen-
tration center, will be signed by the transport quartermaster
or officer in charge of a shipment by rail or other method
of transportation, who will retain one copy of the receipt.
This officer will prepare a similar receipt and have it signed
at the base post office or regulating station at which he
delivers the mail in the theater of operations.
d. Mail from theater of operations. — Mail from the theater
of operations addressed to points in the zone of the interior
is shipped by the military authorities, generally from base
post offices or regulating stations in the theater of operations,
to designated postal concentration centers, from which it is
dispatched to destination. Receipts will be prepared and
signed as prescribed in c(5) above.
e. Troop location group. — At each postal concentration cen-
ter the Post Office Department will furnish the amount of
floor space and office equipment necessary for operation for
a small troop location group to be maintained at each such
center by the Postal Division of The Adjutant's Office. These
groups are charged with the following duties:
(1) Obtaining and furnishing to the United States postal
authorities at the center accurate and timely information as
to the base post office or regulating station to which mail for
troops in the theater of operations should be dispatched.
(2) Obtaining and furnishing the proper United States
postal authorities at the center accurate and timely informa-
tion as to locations and movements of troops in or to the
zone of the interior.
(3) Assisting the United States postal authorities at the
center by furnishing timely information as to the expected
arrival and departure of means of transportation from and
to the theater of operations. This includes, in the case of
departure, the amount of space thereon available for mail
11
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ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
destined for the theater of operations, and in the case
of arrivals the amount of mail due from the theater of
operations.
■ 22. Miscellaneous. — a. Shelter for United States postal
agency. — (1) When posts, camps, cantonments, and similar
agencies of the War Department are located in or near towns
or cities, the Post Office Department will provide such addi-
tional shelter as may be required by its agencies for the serv-
ice of the troops at such mobilization points.
(2) When mobilization points are not so located, suitable
shelter will be assigned by the commanding officer to the
agency of the Post Office Department which serves the troops.
b. Sleeping accommodations and subsistence. — When it is
necessary for Post Office Department personnel to remain
overnight at a post, camp, or cantonment, suitable sleeping
accommodations and subsistence will be furnished them
under the direction of the commanding officer. Subsistence
will be paid for by the Post Office Department, or the per-
sonnel subsisted.
c. Transportation for mail. — Transportation for the trans-
fer of both incoming and outgoing mail between post, camp,
and station post offices and the railroad station or other
source of supply will be furnished by the commanding officers
of posts, camps, and stations when so requested by the Post
Office Department.
d. Directory services. — (1) A directory service for mail will
be established at every past, camp, or station under the direc-
tion of the adjutant general or adjutant, as the case may be.
(2) All incoming mail insufficiently addressed, usually be-
cause of lack of designation of company and regiment, is
turned over by the United States Post Office authorities to
the directory service to supply the missing parts of the ad-
dress and return to the post office for distribution. Each
piece of mail found to be undeliverable will be marked to
show that the Army has given it directory service, that it is
undeliverable and the reason therefor, and returned to the
United States Post Office from which it was received.
e. Investigations of postal irregularities. — In the case of
lost, stolen, or damaged mail, or other postal irregularities,
military personnel, under the direction of the commanding
12
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
22-23
officer, will cooperate fully with the Post Office Department
personnel in any investigation they may desire to make.
/. Prisoner mail. — Mail addressed to enemy prisoners and
to personnel of the Army of the United States captured by
the enemy, and held as prisoners of war, shall be disposed
of under such rules and regulations as the War Department
may prescribe.
Section IV
POSTAL SERVICE IN THE THEATER OP OPERATIONS
■ 23. Army Postal Agencies. — a. Primary agencies. — The
agencies of the Army Postal Service in the theater of opera-
tions are —
(1) The Postal Division of the adjutant general's section
at general headquarters in the field and at headquarters of
each theater of operations, if more than one, and at each
communications zone.
(2) Postal officers at the headquarters of armies, corps,
and divisions.
(3) The Army post offices.
(4) The postal regulating sections.
(5) The mail transportation services.
. (6) The motor dispatch service and the Army courier serv-
ice, if placed under the Army Postal Service.
b. Supplementary agencies. — The agencies enumerated in a
above are supplemented by the regimental (organizational)
postal personnel.
c. Establishment of postal facilities. — Immediately upon
arrival in the theater of operations the commander of a divi-
sion or higher tactical unit establishes postal facilities for his
command. The postal officer, as necessary, secures the
needed fixtures and supplies, arranges for suitable shelter for
his Army post office, and without delay arranges with the ap-
propriate higher postal officer for mail service for the com-
mand. Commanders of organizations arriving in the theater
of operations not assigned or attached to a division or higher
tactical unit will apply to the next higher headquarters for
attachment to an Army post office for mail service. (See par.
24d.) Upon notice of such attachment the unit commander
271749°— 40 3
13
23-24
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
will furnish the Army post office concerned a locator card for
each member of his organization showing the name, grade,
organization, and home address of each member. Thereafter,
for the period of attachment, all gains and losses will be
similarly recorded without delay.
■ 24. Field Postal Officers. — a. GHQ. — (1) When there are
several theaters of operations. — The postal officer, under the
GHQ adjutant general, exercises general supervision over the
Army Postal Service in the several theaters of operations, his
functions being limited to general policies and inspections
and, where necessary, to the establishment of priority for
personnel and supplies for the Army Postal Service. (See
par. llc(2) reference office organization.)
(2) In a single theater of operations. — The postal officer —
(a) Is responsible under the theater adjutant general for
the efficient organization of the Army Postal Service in the
theater of operations and exercises general supervision and
technical control over its agencies therein.
(b) Makes recommendations through channels for the bet-
terment of the postal service between the theater of opera-
tions and the zone of the interior.
(c) Makes requisitions, through channels, on The Adjutant
General for personnel and supplies which he is unable to pro-
cure in the theater of operations.
b. Army headquarters. — (1) Under the Army adjutant gen-
eral the postal officer exercises general supervision and con-
trol over the postal service of the Army.
(2) Agencies of the Army Postal Service operating in the
army's zone requisition on the postal officer for postal sup-
plies and inform him daily of any changes in the location of
the units served which necessitates a rerouting of mail to such
units.
(3) The Army postal officer reports immediately to the
postal regulator of the regulating section changes in the
location of Army post offices as well as any changes in the
"mail" assignment or attachment of units of the Army. (See
d below.)
14
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
24-25
c. Headquarters of the communications zone. — (1) Under
the communications zone adjutant general, the postal officer
is responsible for the efficient organization and operation of
such Army postal activities as are under the zone commander.
(2) He arranges for the transportation of mail by the
branches of the army concerned, and for the necessary postal
guards (convoys) to accompany valuable mail. (See par.
31c.)
(3) When directed, he organizes and operates a motor dis-
patch service (see par. 37). Necessary transportation for
this service will be provided by the communications zone
commander.
(4) He establishes the necessary postal supply depots for
the agencies of the Army Postal Service in the theater of
operations.
d. Assignments for mail service. — (1) Units and installa-
tions. — The postal officer of a theater, army, or communica-
tions zone, as the case may be, will assign to an Army post
office for mail service all organizations or installations serving
under the jurisdiction of the theater, army, or zone not al-
ready provided for. Telegraphic notice of all such assign-
ments will be sent the base post office and postal regulating
section routing mail to the Army post office concerned.
(2) Individuals. — General delivery of mail to individuals, as
practiced by civil post offices, is impracticable and, for military
reasons, inadvisable in a theater of operations. Delivery of
mail to the individual will therefore be made by unit or in-
stallation mail personnel (see par. 44). Any individual, mili-
tary or civilian, with troops in the field, not already so as-
signed, will be attached to an appropriate organization or
installation for mail service.
■ 25. Army Post Offices. — a. Classification. (See Defini-
tions.)
b. Branch post offices msy be established when operation
will be facilitated thereby.
c. Priority in handling mail.
(1) Official mail will be given priority over all other mail.
15
25
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
(2) Of the several classes of mail matter, first-class matter
is given priority in sorting and shipment and is normally dis-
patched by express trains or fast trucks. Second-class mat-
ter is dispatched by express trains when practicable, but nor-
mally is shipped by freight trains or trucks.
d. System for numbering Army Post Offices. — (1) General-
Unit
Block of
numbers
assigned
Method of numbering
Infantry divisions
Cavalry divisions
Armored divisions.
Corps
Armored corps
Field armies
General Headquarters...
Lines of communication
Reserved for special assign-
ment.
1-200..
201-260.
251-300.
301-350.
351-400.
401-500.
501
501-800
801 up.
The number of the division. Example,
the APO for the 5th Division would
be No. 5.
200 plus the number of the division.
Example, the APO for the 1st Cav-
alry Division would be No. 201.
250 plus the number of the division.
Example, the APO for the 1st Ar-
mored Division would be No. 251.
300 plus the number of the corps.
Example, the APO for the I Corps
would be No. 301.
350 plus the number of the corps.
Example, the APO for the I Ar-
mored Corps would be No. 351.
400 plus the number of the Army.
Example, the APO for the First Army
would be No. 401.
Reserved for GHQ APO.
Example, in a communications zone the
APO's would be numbered No. 502,
503, and 504, etc.
(2) During maneuvers. — During maneuvers for assignment
to provisional units not covered above, numbers are allotted as
follows :
First Army:
First Corps Area 801, 811, 821, 831, etc.
Second Corps Area 802, 812, 832, 842, etc.
Third Corps Area 803, 813, 823, 833, etc.
16
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
25-26
Second Army:
Fifth Corps Area 805, 815, 825, 835, etc.
Sixth Corps Area 806, 816, 826, 836, etc.
Third Army:
Fourth Corps Area 804, 814, 824, 834, etc.
Eighth Corps Area 808, 818, 828, 838, etc.
Fourth Army:
Seventh Corps Area 807, 817, 827, 837, etc.
Ninth Corps Area 809, 819, 829, 839, etc.
■ 26. Typical Organization. — The post office organization
illustrated below typifies that which is normal for a postal
organization furnishing mail service to troops in the field.
Variations necessary for base post offices and for others
furnishing specialized service are discussed below.
a. Registry and stamp section. — (1) Functions. — This sec-
tion is established in all Army post offices for the convenience
of the troops in the handling of registered mail and the
purchase of stamps.
(a) The rules, regulations, and practice of the Post Office
Department govern in the handling of registered mail.
(b) A receipt is given for every piece of registered mail
received and a receipt is required of the addressee or mail
orderly for every piece delivered.
(2) Stamps and stamped paper. — (a) The chief finance
officer, communications zone, supplies disbursing officers in
the field, on requisition, with stamps and stamped paper
(envelopes, postal cards, etc.) , which are purchased for cash
or equivalent by the Chief of Finance from the Post Office
Department. They are invoiced to the chief finance officer,
communications zone, who, in turn, invoices them to the
requisitioning disbursing officers in the field.
(b) Stamps and stamped paper will be obtained from the
nearest disbursing officer by an officer of the Army Postal
Service, who will account for them as an agent officer of the
disbursing officer, and will be sold to the troops by the Army
Postal Service.
17
26
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
(c) Unsold or damaged stamps and stamped paper in the
possession of the Army Postal Service will be turned back
to the Finance Department for redemption or replacement
by the Post Office Department, provided the number and
denomination can be determined accurately.
(3) Money orders. — (a) In lieu of money orders, the Pi-
nance Department will issue, in exchange for cash, to officers,
enlisted men, and civilians having a status recognized by the
War Department, checks negotiable only in the United States,
as authorized by AR 35-540. There will be no charge or fee
for this service.
(b) Upon full and complete identification, the Finance
Department will cash domestic money orders issued by the
Post Office Department in the United States and drawn to
the order of officers, enlisted men, and civilians, attached to
the military forces of the United States, in time of war, in
the theater of operations.
(c) The Finance Department arranges for payment or re-
demption of these money orders by the Post Office Depart-
ment in accordance with the following paragraph of a general
agreement between the Post Office Department and the War
Department: (For full text of agreement, see Appendix.)
II. The United States Post Office Department agrees —
1. Upon notice from the War Department that mobilization is to
be or has been initiated —
*******
(M) To pay in time of war at the U. S. Post Office (to be desig-
nated by the Post Office Department) domestic post office money
orders issued at post offices within the United States payable at the
designated post office referred to, payment to be made after such
orders have been cashed by finance officers of the U. S. Army, in a
Theater of Operations and transmitted to such designated post office,
properly endorsed. It is expressly understood that the U. S. Post
Office Department assumes no liability for money orders improperly
cashed by Finance Officers.
*******
(4) Courier mail (see par. 386(2)). — Courier mail will be
forwarded to its destination by special messenger to be se-
cured from the division or analogous headquarters.
b. Incoming and outgoing matt section. — (1) Incoming. —
(a) All incoming mail is received in this section where the
18
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
26
pouches containing letters are first separated from those con-
taining printed matter and parcels.
(b) The pouches containing first-class (letter) mail are
then sent to the distributing tables, where, after the labels
are examined, they are opened and the contents distributed
to the various organizational bags or pigeonholes according
to the scheme of distribution. To make a thorough distribu-
tion there should be a distribution case or bag stand with a
sufficient number of pigeonholes or bags to receive mail for
each regiment or similar organization service by that post
office.
(c) In order to afford a constant and complete check upon
everything coming into the office there will be maintained a
standard pouch record (see form below) in which the clerk
opening the pouch immediately enters the pouch number, by
whom sent, the date and hour of receipt, any irregularities or
errors noted, and affixes his initials. This record will be col-
lected daily by the officer in charge of the post office for
examination, preparation of necessary reports, and file.
19
26 adjutant general's field manual
Army Postal Service
STANDARD POUCH RECORD
Report of pouches received and opened at APO No. ___
Date
Pouch
No.
Receivedf rom —
Date re-
ceived
Time re-
ceived
Errors or irregu-
larities noted
Initials
of clerk
INSTRUCTIONS
This form will be prepared at all APO's at time of opening pouches and collected
daily by the officer in charge of the post office for examination, preparation of necessary
reports and file.
WD AGO Form No
(2) Outgoing. — This section segregates and dispatches all
outgoing mail for the theater of operations and for the zone
of the interior maintaining daily record of pouches dis-
patched (see form below) . Mail for the zone of the interior
20
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
26
will be segregated by States, where practicable, tied in pack-
ages, pouched, sealed, and forwarded to such establishments
as may be designated by the Post Office Department. Suit-
able pigeonhole cases properly labeled will facilitate this
segregation.
Army Postal Service
STANDARD POUCH RECORD
Report of pouches dispatched by APO No.
Date
Pouch
No.
Addressed to-
Time of
dispatch
Via
Initials
of clerk
INSTRUCTIONS
This form will he prepared at all APO's at time of dispatch of pouches and col-
lected daily hy the officer in charge of the post office for examination, preparation of
necessary reports, and file.
WD AGO Form No
271749°— 40 4
21
26
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
c. Directory section. — (1) Communications zone installa-
tions. — (a) This section maintains a card index of the name,
organization, grade, and home address of every individual
being served, or who has ever been served, by the post office.
(See par. 23c, and prescribed form in appendix.)
(b) It is very important that this card index is kept com-
plete and up to date.
(c) When an individual changes station, his card is
promptly changed to show his new address.
(d) All mail which is incorrectly or insufficiently addressed,
or is otherwise undeliverable is handled by this section which
furnishes directory service therefor from the card-index file.
(2) Tactical organisations. — The directory section of post
offices assigned to and serving divisions, corps, and armies
will utilize the personnel records (locator cards) of the adju-
tant general's office of the organization to which assigned
rather than maintain the card index directed in (1) (a) above.
In other respects it functions as does the directory section of
post offices serving the communications zone.
APO
LOCATOR CARD*
Name
(First name) (Middle name)
(Last name)
Grade:
Co.: Regt.:
.... Date:
CHANGES OF ADDRESS
Date
-- - Grade - Co. Regt. ...
APO ._
Date
... Grade ... Co _ Regt
APO i
Date
Grade Cn. - _ Reet.
APO
•Dimensions— 3 by 5 inches.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Locator files using this form will be maintained only by communications zone
APO's- which do not have access to the personnel records of the adjutant general's
section of a division, corps, army, or higher headquarters.
2. A separate card will be made and kept in a card index for every individual being
served or who has ever been served by the post office concerned.
3. When an individual changes station,, the date thereof, his grade, new company,
regiment, and APO will be entered promptly on the first line provided for changes of
addresses; subsequent changes will be entered similarly on the other lines provided
therefor.
22
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
27
■ 27. Base Post Office. — a. Function. — (1) A base post of-
fice receives from the Post Office Department, generally from
postal concentration centers in the zone of the interior, mail
in bulk destined for the theater of operations and, after check-
ing, receipting, retagging, and sorting, dispatches it to desti-
nation by railroad or other available means of transportation.
(2) A base post office also receives mail destined for the
zone of the interior and, after making the necessary distribu-
tion, dispatches such mail to the designated agency of the
Post Office Department.
(3) To receive, hold, and later dispatch mail intended for
organizations en route to the theater of operations whose
location after arrival has not been determined or supplied
to the base post office.
b. Number required, when not established. — There may be
one or more base post offices in a theater of operations, de-
pending upon its extent and organization. Where the thea-
ter of operations is narrow in depth or adjacent to continental
United States territory, it may not be necessary to establish
base post offices, in which case mail is shipped from the postal
concentration centers in the zone of the interior directly to
regulating stations.
c. Location. — The location of base post offices is determined
by the Commanding General, GHQ; their locations being
so fixed as to conform to the general supply scheme of the
theaters of operations.
d. Transportation. — The necessary labor and transporta-
tion for handling mail at base post offices will be furnished
by the commanding officer of the base of which the post office
is a part.
e. Organization. — In view of their function (see ad)
above), base post offices have only an incoming and outgoing
mail section, with the former having a primary and final
distribution.
(1) Primary distribution. — All letters for distribution, ex-
cept packages of letters already sorted when received, will
first be sent to sorting tables where packages are cut and
an initial separation made according to the arms and services,
such as infantry, field artillery, cavalry, etc. Pigeon-hole
23
27-28
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
cases are suggested to facilitate this segregation, the number
and size being determined by the volume of mail handled.
(2) Final distribution. — After primary distribution, a final
distribution is made during which the mail is further segre-
gated by headquarters of armies, army corps, and divisions,
numbered units of the arms and services, and miscellaneous
units. This is the more important of the two operations of
distribution and requires personnel having accurate knowl-
edge of the Army organizations being supplied through the
base post office concerned. Again the size and number of
letter cases required will be governed by the volume of mail
handled and the number of units in the area. Each letter
case will be provided with a "sheet scheme" showing the
locations of all units of (see above reference segregation by
arm or service) the arms and services arranged so as to
afford ready reference. In addition to the "sheet schemes"
there will be a "mailing scheme" containing a printed index
of all units in the theater of operations with the number of
the Army post office to which the mail for each should be
dispatched. The "mailing scheme" will be corrected daily
from bulletins furnished by the theater or other proper postal
officer. Mail arriving at a base post office addressed to a unit
not shown on the mailing scheme will be dispatched if the
exact location of the unit is known or can be readily ascer-
tained. In addition, the next higher headquarters — ordi-
narily the communications zone commander — will be notified
by telegram of the action taken and requested to furnish the
number of the Army post office through which the unit there-
after is to receive mail.
(3) Mail originating in the theater of operations and in-
tended for some other point in the theater will be handled as
is miscellaneous mail received from the zone of the interior.
■ 28. Theater Directory Service. — a. Duties. — (1) In each
theater having a separate headquarters and at GHQ, a
"Mail Directory Service" will be established as a part of the
adjutant general's section. The duty of this service will be
to furnish directory service for insufficiently or incorrectly
addressed mail received in the theater from postal concen-
tration center or from subordinate organizations which have
been unable to supply the correct address.
24
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
28-30
(2) Mail will not be sent to a higher headquarters for this
purpose until every local resource has been exhausted. (See
par. 43.)
b. Locator cards. — The theater or GHQ adjutant general
keeps a file of locator cards for all personnel in their respec-
tive commands which will be used as the basis of the directory
service.
■ 29. Army Post Offices at Hospital Centers. — a. When at-
tached. — A communications zone commander may attach an
Army post office to any hospital center whose size justifies
such action.
b. Operation of Army post offices attached to hospital cen-
ters will, under the direction of the commanding officer, be
operated by the Army Postal Service with final distribution
to individuals and collections of mail made by mail orderlies
of the Medical Department.
c. Directory service. — Directory service in hospital centers
will use hospital personnel records, and such service will be
greatly facilitated if the card index for patient personnel is
maintained separately from those of the permanent per-
sonnel.
d. Notices of arrival, discharge, and transfet of patients. —
Immediately upon the arrival of a patient at a hospital center
the commanding officer will have prepared and sent to the
theater adjutant general and, to the last organization of the
person concerned a notice of the arrival of the patient con-
cerned. Similarly, a notice of the discharge or transfer of a
patient will be sent to the same two places.
■ 30. Postal Regulating Sections. — a. Location. — Postal reg-
ulating sections are established at Army regulating stations,
are under the orders of the commanding officers thereof, and
form a part of their commands.
b. Functions. — (1) To receive, sort, tag (when necessary),
and dispatch mail in bulk received for troops in that part of
the theater of operations served by the regulating station.
(2) To dispatch mail received from troops in the theater
of operations. This includes mail for the zone of the interior
and mail from one point to another in the theater of oper-
ations.
25
30-31
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
(3) To combine into packages, tag, and dispatch mail re-
ceived in small lots in mixed pouches. (In postal language
this is termed "closing" mail which is "massed" on the regu-
lating station.)
(4) When there is no base post office the postal regulating
section may, in addition, have all or part of the functions
of a base post office.
(5) In order to perform its functions the postal regulating
section must maintain up-to-date lists showing the locations
of all troops and installations being supplied by the regulating
station of which it is a part.
c. Facilities required. — (1) Space and shelter for handling
large quantities of mail in bulk.
(2) If also functioning as a base post office, the requisite
office fixtures and supplies.
d. Personnel. — As prompt movement of mail depends
largely upon the efficiency of the service at these sections, it
is essential that the personnel be carefully selected. They
should, if possible, be experienced former railway postal clerks
of the Post Office Department and must appreciate the im-
portance of keeping secret the information intrusted to them.
■ 31. Transportation of the Mail. — a. General. — (1) Nor-
mally, mail jroutes follow supply routes and mail is dispatched
to units with their supplies. For priority in transporting
mail, see paragraph 25c.
(2) The Army Postal Service must be quick to anticipate
changes in the military situation and be prepared to take
advantage of every practicable means for forwarding mail to
destination. Above all, the method of transporting mail must
be sufficiently flexible to meet the varying conditions of war.
b. Transportation section. — (1) Function.. — (a) The postal
officer of a general headquarters in the field, of a separate
theater of operations, if more than one, and of the communi-
cations zone will establish, under the direction of his com-
manding general, a transportation section whose function is
to assure the safe and speedy transportation of mail.
(b) Prompt advice as to all changes in locations of troops
is an essential element of any scheme for the efficient and
accurate dispatch of mail and the transportation section must,
therefore, keep in very close touch with all troop movements.
26
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
31-32
(2) General headquarters in the field. — In conformity with
the orders and plans of the commanding general, the trans-
portation section at general headquarters —
(a) Arranges for the transportation of the mail by railroad
or other available means.
(6) Assures the prompt handling of mail to and from the
theaters of operations.
(c) Operates the motor dispatch service, if established.
(3) Separate theater of operations. — Same as (2) above,
insofar as applicable.
(4) Army headquarters. — (a) In conformity with the or-
ders and plans of the army commander and subject to the
technical control and general supervision of the postal officer
at general headquarters or the theater of operations, as the
case may be, the army postal officer organizes the mail service
in the army area. He must be on the alert at all times to
note promptly any change in the general situation which may
affect the mail service in the army area.
(6) Changes in the location of troops will be reported with-
out delay to the regulating station through which the army is
supplied.
c. Convoys. — (1) When guards are necessary for mail, they
will be furnished as follows:
(a) Between postal concentration centers and base post
offices — as arranged between the Postal Division, The Adju-
tant General's Office, and the transporting service.
(6) Between base post offices and postal regulating sec-
tions — by base post offices concerned.
(c) Between postal regulating sections and railheads — by
postal regulating sections concerned.
(2) It is the primary duty of convoys to protect the mail.
In the case of registered matter they will secure receipts from
persons authorized to receive it. If relieved or transferred
to other duty, all records and receipts in their custody will
be turned over to the officer under whom the service was
performed.
■ 32. Service by Rail. — a. Railway mail service. — No railway
mail service is contemplated except as an incident to mail
service for the civilian population of United States territory.
(See sec. VI.)
27
32-37 ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
b. Priority in transporting mail. — See paragraph 25c.
c. Daily trains, — After handling by a regulating section,
mail is usually forwarded to its destination on the "daily"
trains.
d. Local mail. — Mail for Army post offices in the communi-
cations zone is delivered en route.
BE 33. Motor Truck Lines. — When deemed necessary by the
commander concerned to provide additional or more exten-
sive mail service, railway lines may be supplemented by motor
truck lines, organized and operated on fixed routes and regu-
lar schedules.
H 34. Boat Lines. — Transportation on inland waterways be-
ing comparatively slow, it is resorted to only when quicker
means are not available.
■J 35. Animal-Drawn Vehicles. — Transportation by this
means is resorted to only when other means are not avail-
able or practicable.
■ 36. Air Mail Routes. — When authorized, these routes are
established and operated by the Air Corps, under agreement
with the Army Postal Service, for the transportation of im-
portant official mail on regular schedules between the War
Department and GHQ in the field and between the latter
and such important headquarters in the theater of opera-
tions as may be designated by the commanding general.
■ 37. Motor Dispatch Service. — a. Function. — The function
of this service is to supplement the service by rail and to afford
rapid and frequent communications between GHQ in the
field and the headquarters of groups of armies, armies, corps,
and divisions, the communications zone, and important depots
and stations in the theater of operations.
b. Coordination with Army courier service. — It is coordi-
nated with the Army courier service, if established, to afford
a means whereby couriers may travel between points in the
theater of operations.
c. Personnel and matter transported. — It transports not
only couriers and their dispatches but also important first-
class mail in bulk and other important mail whenever capacity
permits.
28
ARMY. POSTAL SERVICE
37-38
d. Time schedule. — A time schedule for each route covered
will be prepared and furnished all post offices and head-
quarters concerned.
e. Transportation employed. — The means of transportation
employed are automobiles, motorcycles, and light trucks,
which are made available to this service for such duty.
■ 38. Army Courier Service. — a. Function. — The function of
this service is the speedy and safe transmission by special
courier of important official communications.
6. System defined. — (1) The system consists of maintaining
a chain of receipt for the communication from the time it is
placed in the custody of the courier service until it is delivered
to the addressee, thus combining the features of both the
registry and special delivery systems of the Post Office Depart-
ment. Courier mail is, therefore, faster than registered mail.
(2) Courier mail is handled by the registry section of post
offices to which it is directed or through which it passes. This
section receipts for and dispatches outgoing courier mail and
also makes prompt delivery of, and obtains receipts for,
incoming courier mail.
c. Limits of operation. — This service is established between
the War Department and general headquarters in the field,
and between the latter and the headquarters of separate
theaters of operations, groups of armies, armies, corps, and
divisions, the communications zone, and other important
headquarters or points.
d. How couriers travel. — Couriers always travel by the
quickest and most reliable means of transportation. (See
par. 26a(4).)
e. Travel to be facilitated. — Officers in charge of agencies
of the Army Postal Service which are concerned in the dis-
patch of courier mail will take every practicable measure
to facilitate the movements of couriers, arranging for their
transportation and, when necessary, for their meals and
sleeping accommodations.
/. Time schedule. — Same as paragraph 37d.
g. Selection of personnel. — Only officers and enlisted men
who are trustworthy, conscientious, and alert will be selected
for this work and they should be impressed with the im-
29
38-39 ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
portance of safeguarding at all times and in every way the
communications entrusted to their care.
h. Arming and training of couriers. — Couriers will be armed
with the pistol and trained in its use.
■ 39. Postal Supplies and Supply Depots. — a. (1) The sys-
tem of requisition, procurement, issue, and accountability is,
in general, that prescribed for Class IV supplies.
(2) Army post offices in the combat zone requisition directly
on their army headquarters for postal supplies, while those in
the communications zone submit their requisitions to the
headquarters of the communications zone.
b. Postal supplies. — When an Army post office is established,
it will be furnished, without requisition, with an initial stock
of postal supplies consisting of forms, blanks, postal records,
registry records, twine, office stationery, hand stamps, rubber
mats, seal presses, lead seals, postal scales, rubber stamps,
stamp pads, typewriters, bag racks, letter cases, and office fix-
tures. This supply is estimated as sufficient for 30 days;
thereafter, requisitions for postal supplies will be based on the
requirements of the post office for three months.
c. Postal supply depots, if found necessary, will be estab-
lished in the communications zone.
d. Messing. — Postal personnel of armies, corps, and divi-
sions are a part of the headquarters companies of such units
and mess with the organization of which they are a part.
Other postal units in the theater of operation are of such
limited strength that the maintenance of a separate mess for
their use is seldom justified. Accordingly, the commander of
an organization or installation to which an Army postal unit
is assigned or attached will attach the personnel thereof to a
convenient organization for rations.
e. Sleeping accommodations and subsistence for employees
of V. S. Post Office Department. — Commanding officers will
furnish, when necessary, sleeping accommodations and sub-
sistence, the same as furnished officers' of the Army, for per-
sonnel of the Post Office Department employed in the theaters
of operations; the subsistence to be paid for by the Post Office
Department at costs not in excess of that charged officers of
the Army.
30
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
39
DIAGRAMMATIC CHART F FLOW F MAIL
FROM THEATER OF OPERATIONS
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
POSTAL
CONCENTRATION
CENTER
NOTE: MAIL FROM THEATER OF
OPERATIONS MAY GO TO OTHER
ZONE OF INTERIOR POSTAL
ESTABLISHMENT IF DESIRED BY
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT
POST OFFICE
Figure 1.
31
40-42 ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
Section V
POSTAL SERVICE OF A DIVISION, CORPS, AND ARMY
IN THE THEATER OF OPERATIONS
■ 40. General. — The postal service of a division consists of
the following:
Division postal officer.
Division headquarters branch post office.
Division main post office.
Regimental mail service.
■ 41'. Divisional Postal Officer. — o. Responsibility and
duties. — The division postal officer, under the division adju-
tant general, supervises and directs the postal service of the
division and. is responsible for its efficiency.
b. (1) He is directly in charge of the division headquarters
branch post office and the division main post office.
(2) He prepares the necessary schedules for the receipt,
distribution, and dispatch of the mail.
(3) He assigns each nonregimental unit of the division to
a regiment, to the headquarters branch, or to the main post
office for mail service.
(4) He makes such inspections as may be necessary of all
postal agencies of the division, including regimental mail
service and records pertaining thereto.
■ 42. Division Main Post Office. — a. Location and organ-
isation. — This office is the principal postal agency of the
division and will usually be at or near the division distribut-
ing point for Class I supplies.
b. Functions. — Its functions are to —
(1) Receive, separate, and dispatch in bulk all incoming
mail for units of the division.
(2) Receive, sort, and dispatch all outgoing mail from units
of the division.
(3) Furnish direct postal service to all organizations lo-
cated near the distributing point or those which can be more
conveniently served by this office than by any other.
c. Directory service. — Mail requiring directory service will
be sent to the division headquarters.
32
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
42-43
d. Records. — A record (see prescribed forms, pages 20 and
21) — by pouch, origin, and destination — will be kept of all
ordinary mail received and dispatched. Each piece of regis-
tered and insured mail will be recorded and the required
receipts therefor taken.
e. Transportation. — (1) Assignment and use. — The neces-
sary transportation of mail to and from divisional units and
to and from the headquarters branch post office will be pro-
vided from transportation available to the division. A motor-
cycle with side car or pick-up truck will be made available to
the division post office for the transportation of mail requir-
ing such handling, and for transportation of the postal officer
in connection with official business of the divisional postal
service.
(2) Guards. — Mail being sent by truck will be accompanied
by a member of the —
(a) Divisional postal service when transported by trans-
portation furnished from divisional trains, or
(b) Regimental postal service when transportation is from
regimental trains.
(3) Receipt for mail. — The guard accompanying trucks
transporting mail records by package or pouch and all mail
received and delivered gives and takes receipts for it.
■ 43. Division headquarters branch post office. — a. Location
and general functions. — This establishment is a branch of the
Army post office assigned to the division, is located at the rear
echelon of the division headquarters, and serves the division
headquarters and nearby organizations.
b. Directory service. — The directory section is located at the
division headquarters and furnishes directory service for all
insufficiently or incorrectly addressed mail received at the
main post office which organizations are unable to handle
properly. In furnishing this directory service the directory
section utilizes the. records of the division adjutant general.
c. Undeliverable mail. — Mail given directory service in the
division and for which a correct address cannot be supplied
will be sent to the appropriate headquarters for disposition
(see par. 28).
33
44-46 ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
■ 44. Regimental Mail Service. — Regimental mail service
consists of —
a. The regimental postal officer (usually an assistant ad-
jutant in addition to his other duties) .
b. One noncommissioned officer, grade 4 or higher, and
sufficient enlisted clerks detailed by the regimental com-
mander to handle headquarters mail and furnish postal serv-
ice not otherwise provided for.
c. The regimental post office (a section of the adjutant's
office) .
d. Unit mail orderlies.
■ 45. Regimental Mail Personnel. — a. General. — This per-
sonnel operates under the regimental postal officer and in the
theater of operations is the means of contact between the
individuals of the command and the Army Postal Service.
b. Detailed functions. — (1) They serve their own regiment
and in addition any nonregimental organization attached for
mail service. (See par. 41b(3).)
(2) They receive, distribute, and deliver incoming mail
from the division main or branch post office, direct or through
unit mail orderlies to the individual personnel of their
organizations.
(3) They collect outgoing mail, prepare it for dispatch, and
deliver it to the main or branch post office of the division as
directed by the division postal officer.
c. Directory service. — They furnish directory service for all
mail received by organizations of the regiment which is in-
sufficiently or incorrectly addressed. Mail for which they
cannot furnish directory service is sent to the division head-
quarters for directory service.
■ 46. Unit Mail Orderlies. — a. Importance. — The efficiency
of troop mail service largely depends upon the efficiency of
the mail service in the company, which is the final agency in
the distribution of the mail. Mail orderlies are detailed from
the company or detachment they serve.
b. Excused from other duties. — Mail orderlies are selected
from personnel whose duties will permit regular, efficient
functioning of the mail service within the company or other
unit.
34
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
46
c. Qualifications and general duties. — (1) The unit mail
orderly is the postmaster of his organization and, to perform
his duties properly, should be intelligent and trustworthy, have
some clerical ability, and, if possible, have had some previous
postal experience.
(2) He receives the incoming mail from the regimental post
office and distributes it to members of his organization. He
also collects the outgoing mail, which he delivers to the regi-
mental post office for forwarding, after he has examined it and
assured himself that it is properly prepared for mailing and is
correctly and sufficiently addressed.
(3) He also furnishes directory service, whenever possible,
for all undeliverable mail received by him. (See d below.)
d. Directory service. — (1) General. — In time of war, due to
casualties in action, transfers, and other causes, the personnel
of organizations changes frequently and one of the most im-
portant duties of the mail orderly is to correctly readdress and
forward mail received for personnel no longer with the organi-
zation.
(2) Undeliverable mail. — The mail orderly will dispose of
undeliverable mail as follows:
(a) Missent mail. — Individual pieces of mail received by the
mail orderly clearly addressed to a member of some other
organization will be returned to the regimental post office with
no other action by the mail orderly except to draw a line under
the address for emphasis. Where a package of mail is simi-
larly missent, the mail orderly will write on the package -slip
the words "Missent to Company ", note the date
thereon, and return the package to the regimental post office.
(b) When forwarding address is known. — Undeliverable
mail not missent as above will be readdressed and forwarded
through the regimental post office to the addressee unless he
is a patient in a division or evacuation hospital (see (fc) below
for such cases) .
(c) When forwarding address is not known. — Except as di-
rected in (h) to (?) below, when the forwarding address of
the addressee is not known the mail will be immediately re-
turned to the regimental post office with a line through the
35
46
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
address and the indorsement "present address unknown," fol-
lowed by the company and regiment, the date and the initials
of the mail orderly noted thereon. (See example under (g)
below.) Whenever practicable, sufficient space will be left for
subsequent indorsements of regimental and divisional postal
agencies.
(d) Mail indorsed pursuant to (c) above will be returned to
the regimental post oflice, where it will be readdressed if a
forwarding address can be found at regimental headquarters.
If no forwarding address is found, it will be indorsed as above
to the division headquarters post office, where similar action
will be taken. If no forwarding address is of record in the
division, it will be forwarded to the appropriate headquarters
for disposition as provided in paragraph 43c.
(e) If space permits, the regimental and 'divisional indorse-
ments will be placed in turn below that of the company mail
orderly. (See example in (i) below.) If not, the word "over"
will be written under or alongside of the company or regi-
mental indorsement, as the case may be, and the next one
written near the top on the reverse side of the piece of mail.
When an indorsement is placed on the reverse side it will be
preceded by the words "present address unknown."
(/) Indorsements; how prepared.
1. When there is sufficient space begin the first indorse-
ment about \Vz inches above lower edge of the
envelope.
. 2. Write an indorsement once only.
3. Write plainly and do not use more space than
necessary.
4. Do not write, mark, or stamp over the name of the
addressee.
5. Draw a light line, in ink, through the incorrect
address.
6. If there is not sufficient space on the face of letter
for the indorsement, write the word "over" on the
face and place the indorsement on the back.
7. Appropriate rubber stamps or colored gummed past-
ers, if available, will be used for indorsements.
36
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 46
(gO The following Is an example of a complete indorsement:
From Richard R. Roe
165 E. St. (STAMP)
Kokomo, Ind.
Private John Robbins Doe (Army serial No.)
Present address unknown
Co. A, 167th Inf. 2-/2-CJO. Company A,
167th Inf. 2/13-ETM. 167th Infantry,
4th Div. 2/15-RS. APO No. 710.
(h) Sick or wounded. — If the records shew that the ad-
dressee left his organization, "sick" or "wounded" and his
present address is unknown, the appropriate word will be
added to the indorsement of the mail orderly, immediately
after the words "present address unknown."
(i) Missing. — When mail is received for an individual who
is accounted for as "dead," "killed in action," "missing in
action," or "prisoner of war," the mail orderly will draw a line
through the address and turn it over to the company com-
mander, or any officer of the company having knowledge of
the facts for indorsement as follows:
DEAD
(or "killed in action," "missing in action," "prisoner of
war," as the case may be) .
(Signed) John Doe,
Captain, 167th Infantry,
2/12.
Mail of this character must be indorsed by an officer, prefer-
ably the company commander, and is returned through the
usual channels to the division headquarters post office for
verification of the indorsement and forwarding to the central
post office, if one has been established; or, if not, directly to
The Adjutant General, for return to the addressor after final
verification of the indorsement.
37
46
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
(?) Erroneous address. — Mail addressed to an individual
who has never been assigned or attached to the organization
will be indorsed by the mail orderly with the words "no
record" followed by his company and regiment, the date, and
his initials, and returned through the usual channels.
(fc) Patients in division or evacuation hospitals. — Usually
patients do not remain long enough in division or evacuation
hospitals to receive mail and it will not be forwarded to them
there unless specifically requested. If the patient is to be
held in such a hospital for ten days or longer, the hospital
mail orderly, or other suitable person, under the direction
of the commanding officer of the hospital, will assist the
patient to prepare notification cards giving the patient's ad-
dress, and requesting that mail be forwarded. These cards
will be sent to his former immediate commander, and the
central post office, if one has been established. (See (3) (e)
below.)
(3) Rosters. — (a) To enable him to furnish the required
directory service, the mail orderly will keep an up-to-date
roster of all members of his organization, past and present.
(b) This roster will be kept in a book, preferably loose-
leaf, alphabetically tabbed, with the names arranged in alpha-
betical order on the left-hand pages only; the right-hand
pages being reserved lor the forwarding addresses of ab-
sentees. An authorized alternate method is to keep the roster
on 3 by 5-inch cards.
(c) The names of officers will be kept in a separate list
from those of enlisted men. Space for additional names will
be left between each alphabetical block.
(d) The mail orderly must enter, or make changes in, the
forwarding address of members of his organization at the
time they occur. . The; mail roster will be frequently in-,
spected — once every ten days — by the regimental postal officer
and semiweekly by a company officer. A record of such
inspections, the date inspected, and the initials of the inspect-
ing officer will be recorded and kept in or with the roster.
(e) Prior to departure therefrom, every member of a com-
pany or detachment will, if practicable, furnish the unit mail
orderly with his new address unless he desires his mail held
pending his return. Should the absence be unforeseen, the
38
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
46
individual concerned will, at the first opportunity, furnish his
new address to his last immediate commander, who • will
notify the unit mail orderly concerned.
(/) When a new member joins the company he will be
required by the company commander to notify the com-
mander of his old company and his correspondents, especially
his relatives, of his new address. This will be done regardless
of any statement that may be made by the new member as
to his already having done so. The postal card form for
notification of change of address shown below will be used
for this purpose; the company or similar organization com-
mander verifying the data thereon prior to dispatch:
Date:
My address is:
Private John R. Doe (Army serial No ) ,
Co. F, 167th Infantry,
APO
I am ("well," "sick," "in hospital," "slightly
wounded," etc.).
Signature: John R. Doe.
Verified: ,
(Name) (Grade)
Commanding Co. F, 167th Inf.
(4) Registered mail. — (a) Every piece of registered mail
will, at the time received by the mail orderly, be recorded in
a book (referred to as the "Registered Mail Book") by regis-
try number, place of origin, if known, and the name of the
addressee. The signature of the person to whom delivered
and the date thereof will be entered in the "Registered Mail
Book" at time of delivery, e. g.:
No.
From
Addressed to —
Delivered to
(signature) —
Date of
delivery
183
Smithfleld, Mich
Pvt. John R. Doe
John R. Doe..„
2-12-28
39
46-47 ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
The "Registered Mail Book" will be kept as a part of the
permanent, records of the company.
(b) Registered mail which cannot be delivered will be
indorsed the same as ordinary mail, returned through regi-
mental headquarters to the division headquarters post office,
and a receipt therefor obtained in the "Registered Mail
Book."
(c) Mail orderlies are accountable for all registered mail
for which they have receipted and for which they cannot
show a proper receipt, and are subject to disciplinary action
for loss of, or damage to, registered mail through their
negligence.
(5) Records. — The records to be kept by the mail orderly
consist of —
(a) The roster required by (3) above.
(b) The registry book required by (4) above.
(c) A copy of this manual or such extracts thereof as per-
tain to his duties with changes issued from time to time.
(6) Empty mail bags. — (a) "Whoever shall steal, purloin,
or embezzle any mall bag or other property in use or belong-
ing to the Post Office Department, or shall appropriate any
such property to his own or other than its proper use, or
shall convey away any such property to the hindrance or
detriment of the public service, shall be fined not more than
two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than three years,
or both." (35 Stat. 1124, Section 1698, United States Postal
Laws and Regulations.)
(b) Any empty mail bags will be returned by the mail
orderly each day to the regimental post office or to the post
office from which received.
■ 47. Corps Postal Service. — a. Organizations served. — Postal
service for the corps is substantially the same as that for the
division except that the Army post office of the corps serves
corps headquarters and such corps troops as are not at-
tached or assigned to division post offices for mail service.
b. Corps postal officer. — Except as provided in c below,
the corps postal officer in addition to his duties as such is
immediately in charge of the Army post office attached to
the corps headquarters.
40
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
47-50
c. Postal officer of independent corps. — The postal officer
of an independent corps functions as does an army postal
officer. (See par. 24b.)
■ 48. Army Postal Service. — The Army Postal Service con r
sists of —
a. Army postal officer (see par. 24b for duties) .
b. Army post office to furnish mail service to army head-
quarters and army troops not assigned or attached to corps
or division post offices for mail service.
c. Army post offices of the corps and divisions of the army.
d. Other army postal activities located in the army area not
under the jurisdiction of the communications zone.
Section VI
CIVILIAN POPULATION IN THE THEATER OF
OPERATIONS
■ 49. General. — Postal service for the civilian population in
the theater of operations is subject to such control and re-
striction as may be directed by the commanding general.
■ 50. In United States Territory. — a. When conducted by
Post Office Department. — When the theater of operations is
wholly or partly in United States territory the Post Office
Department continues its postal service for the civilian popu-
lation in that part of the theater of operations which is in
United States territory, insofar as the military situation
permits.
b. When taken over by Army Postal Service. — Whenever, in
his judgment, the military situation requires such action, the
commanding general may direct that the postal service for the
civilian population, in whole or in part, be taken over by the
Army Postal Service.
c. Limits of responsibility. — When so taken over in part,
definite limits of responsibility between the Post Office De-
partment and the Army Postal Service will be prescribed.
d. Assistance by Army Postal Service. — Whenever practi-
cable, the Army Postal Service assists the Post Office Depart-
ment, such assistance mainly taking the form of furnishing
transportation for mail of the civil population.
41
51
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
■ 51. In Occupied Enemy Territory. — When directed by the
commanding general, the Army Postal Service organizes and
operates the postal service for the civilian population, utiliz-
ing as a basis therefor the enemy postal service existing at the
time of occupation, including those officials and employees
thereof who are willing to serve.
42
Appendix
GENERAL AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE U. S. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT AND THE WAR
DEPARTMENT CONCERNING ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
March 19, 1940.
General
Having in mind the importance, from a morale standpoint,
of a prompt and efficient mail service for personnel of the
Army in emergencies, and during appropriate periods of field
training in peace time, the U. S. Post Office Department and
the War Department enter into an agreement as stated below.
Definitions
Essentially military and postal terms as used in this agree-
ment are defined as follows:
A Theatre of Operations is an area designated as such by
the War Department in which military operations are being
or may be conducted. A Theatre of Operations is normally
divided into a "Combat Zone" and a "Communications Zone."
A Combat Zone is that part of a Theatre of Operations re-
quired for the active employment of the combatant forces.
A Communications Zone is that part of a Theatre of Opera-
tions in the rear of the combat zone and contains the estab-
lishments of supply and evacuation, lines of communication,
and other agencies necessary for the support and maintenance
of the field forces in the entire theatre.
A Zone of the Interior is that part of the national territory,
exclusive of overseas departments, not included in a Theatre
of Operations.
A Post Office is a regular United States Post Office or station
established for the purpose of transacting postal business.
A Postal Concentration Center is a post office or agency of
the Post Office Department at which all mail for a mobiliza-
tion or oversea force is brought together for separation.
43
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
An Army Post Office or A. P. O. is a military station set up
in the field at or near the headquarters or military unit it
serves. These will be designated by numbers.
An Army Base Post Office is a military station set up at a
convenient point or at a port, at which to separate and route
the bulk mail for troops in a certain area.
I. The War Department agrees:
1. Upon or prior to mobilization:
(a) To organize and operate an Army Postal Service to
provide mail service for the troops in a Theatre of Operations.
(b) To maintain a "troop location group" at each Postal
Concentration Center operated by the U. S. Post Office De-
partment in the Zone of the Interior. These groups will
furnish lists of organizations and activities in the Theatre of
Operations showing to what Army Base Post Office or Army
Regulating Station in the Theatre of Operations mail for all
such units should be sorted, tagged, and shipped.
(c) To give the U. S. Post Office Department immediate
notice, through the Chief of the Army Postal Service at
Washington, D. C, or his representative at the headquarters
of Corps Areas and Departments, of the location and changes
in location in the Zone of the Interior of posts, camps, sta-
tions, and similar agencies of the War Department, of the
number and identity of troops allotted to each, of the time
when they will arrive, and of the approximate time they will
remain.
(d) To deliver incoming mail addressed to military person-
nel of Zone of Interior posts, camps and stations, taking
delivery of same from the U. S. Post Office Department at
their post offices established for the purpose.
(e) To furnish directory service for mail received at Zone
of Interior posts, camps and stations, insufficiently addressed;
delivering such of it as is possible, and returning the re-
mainder to the U. S. Post Office with each piece marked to
show the army has given it directory service, and that it is
undeliverable, and the reason therefor.
(f) To designate military personnel to receipt for at the
Post Office, and deliver to addressees, registered, insured, and
special delivery mail at posts, camps, and stations, in the Zone
of the Interior. No C. O. D. mail will be turned over to
44
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
military personnel for delivery; the delivery to addressee will
be made at the Post Office. No special delivery service will
be given mail addressed to troops in the field for temporary
maneuvers, or in a Theatre of Operations.
(g) In a Theatre of Operations, in lieu of money order
facilities furnished by the Post Office Department, to issue
official checks in exchange for cash, to officers, enlisted men
and civilians having a status recognized by the War Depart-
ment and authorized to accompany the military forces of the
United States in time of war.
(h) To cash domestic post office money orders drawn to the
order of officers, enlisted men, and civilians, attached to the
military forces of the United States, in time of war, in a
Theatre of Operations, these orders cashed by the Army to be
redeemed or paid at a designated post office. The Army ac-
cepts full responsibility for improper payment and subsequent
investigation, and necessary collection and reimbursement to
the true payee.
(i) In a Theatre of Operations to collect, separate by states
where practicable, tie in packages, pouch, seal and forward to
such establishments as may be designated by the Post Office
Department, outgoing mail for dispatch. After distribution
by the Post Office Department, to furnish in overseas theatres
transportation to the point of dispatch from such theatre.
(j) To furnish transportation for mail, both incoming and
outgoing, between the agency of the Post Office Department
established at Zone of Interior posts, camps and stations, and
the railroad station or other source of supply.
(k) To furnish such workrooms as may be required and are
acceptable to the Post Office Department for postal purposes
at Zone of Interior posts, camps and stations, if workrooms
satisfactory to the Post Office Department are not otherwise
available.
(1) To furnish sleeping accommodations and subsistence,
the same as furnished officers of the Army, for personnel of
the U. S. Post Office Department employed at posts, camps
and stations, in the Zone of the Interior, and in a Theatre of
Operations when necessary, the subsistence to be paid for by
the Post Office Department at costs not in excess of that
charged officers of the Army.
45
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
(m) To furnish, in a Theatre of Operations located in a
foreign country, office space and workrooms acceptable to such
Post Office Department representatives and agencies as are
authorized to operate in the theatre.
(n) In that part of the continental United States included
in a Theatre of Operations, to assist the U. S. Post Office De-
partment, insofar as the military situation will permit, in
furnishing postal service for the civil population. This as-
sistance will in general consist of furnishing transportation
for mail of the civil population.
(o) That civilian employes of the Post Office Department
employed overseas in a Communications Zone shall wear an
easily recognizable badge or carry identification prescribed by
the War Department.
2. To restrict the reserve officer personnel of the Army
Postal Service to employes on the rolls of, and recommended
by the Post Office Department; it is further agreed that re-
serve officers appointed through recommendation of the Post
Office Department shall be discharged from their commissions
whenever their services cannot be utilized to advantage in the
Army Postal Service, either because of separation from the
postal service or other cause.
3. To maintain a continuing liaison representative to rep-
resent it with the Post Office Department in all matters in
connection with placing and continuing this agreement in
practical effect.
4. That mail service to divisions and larger units during
maneuvers, in which troops are away from their permanent
stations, shall, insofar as practicable, be as contemplated in
this agreement.
H. The U. S. Post Office Department Agrees:
I. Upon notice from the War Department that mobiliza-
tion is to be or has been initiated:
(a) To initiate or augment its postal service as may be
necessary to meet the needs of the Army.
(b) To establish, equip, and operate Postal Concentration
Centers at points to be agreed upon by the two Departments,
for the sorting and tagging of mail for units and installations
in the Theatre or Theatres of Operations.
46
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
(c) To deliver to the military authorities at Zone of In-
terior posts, camps, and stations, at the agency of the U. S.
Post Office Department established for the purpose, incoming
mail separated to companies.
(d) To deliver to the military authorities at Zone of In-
terior posts, camps, and stations, registered, insured,- and
special delivery mail upon receipt, in accordance with Sec-
tion I, paragraph 1(f) , above.
(e) To label or tag all mail made up at Postal Concentra-
tion Centers, in accordance with lists to be furnished by
Army Troop Location Groups, and dispatch it to Army Postal
Agencies as directed by the Army. The Post Office Depart-
ment will, if desired by the War Department, furnish trans-
portation between the Postal Concentration Center and the
depot or wharf. ■
(f) To receive outgoing mail from Theatres of Operations
from the military authorities at such establishments of the
U. S. Post Office Department as may be agreed upon by the
Departments concerned.
(g) To furnish the Army Postal Service Troop Location
Groups at Postal Concentration Centers with the amount of
floor space and office equipment necessary to enable them to
function properly.
(h) To furnish the War Department with postal supplies,
mail sacks and seals necessary for the handling and dispatch
of mails by agencies of the Army Postal Service.
(i) In that part of the continental United States included
in a Theatre of Operations to continue such postal service for
the civil population as may be agreed upon by the appropriate
representative of the Post Office Department and the Theatre
Commander.
(j) To give publicity through its agencies in the United
States, as to the correct method of addressing mail intended
for personnel of the Army.
(k) To designate a representative in each of the Corps
Areas of the United States, to confer with a like representa-
tive on the Staff of the Corps Area Commander for the pur-
47
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
pose of considering postal questions in the Corps Area of
interest to the two Departments.
(1) To sell stamps and stamped paper in time of war, to
duly designated agents of the U. S. Army, for cash or equiva-
lent, at such U. S. Post Offices as may be designated by the
U. S. Post Office Department, and to redeem for cash or equiv-
alent any unsold or damaged stamps and stamped paper, pro-
vided number and denomination can be accurately determined.
(m) To pay in time of war, at the U. S. Post Office (to be
designated by the Post Office Department) domestic post
office money orders issued at post offices within the United
States payable at the designated post office referred to, pay-
ment to be made after such orders have been cashed by
finance officers of the U. S. Army, in a Theatre of Operations
and transmitted to such designated post office properly en-
dorsed. It is expressly understood that the U. S. Post Office
Department assumes no liability for money orders improperly
cashed by Finance Officers.
(n) To furnish, in a Theatre of Operations located in a for-
eign country, such post office representatives and agencies as
may be agreed upon between the two Departments.
2. To endeavor to develop in the U. S. Post Office Depart-
ment, in the nature of an enlisted reserve, a sufficient number
of postal employees from the different branches of the U. S.
Postal Service to meet the enlisted needs of the Army Postal
Service.
3. To maintain a continuing liaison representative to repre-
sent it with the War Department in all matters in connection
with placing and continuing this agreement in practical effect.
4. To furnish mail service to divisions and larger units dur-
ing maneuvers in which troops are away from their permanent
stations, as contemplated in Section 5, paragraph 4.
For the War Department:
Harry H. Woodring,
Secretary of War.
For the Post Office Department:
James A. Farley,
Postmaster General.
48
ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT
March 29, 1940.
Major General Emory S. Adams,
The Adjutant General, V. S. Army,
Washington, D. C.
My dear General Adams:
In connection with an agreement between the Post Office
and the War Departments, dated March 19, 1940, concerning
Army Postal Service, it is the desire of this Department to
recommend suitable personnel to the War Department for
appointment as Reserve officers in the Army Postal Service as
contemplated by Section I, paragraph 2. It is understood that
such personnel must meet the physical and other requirements
set up by the War Department for such appointment.
It is requested that this letter be filed with the agreement as
indicating the desire of this Department.
Sincerely yours,
K. P. Aldrich,
Chief Inspector.
49
INDEX
Paragraphs Pages
Addressing Army mail in theater of operations.- 6 3
Administration and personnel section 14 7
Air mail routes 36 28
Army courier service 38 29
Army Postal Service: '
Agencies 23 13
Censorship 5 3
Chief of 12 7
Definitions 1 1
Mission 3 3
Organization 9-18 5
On mobilization 11 6
Peacetime 10 6
Post Office Department, War Department
agreement relative Army Postal Service,. App. 43
Post Offices 25 15
At hospital centers 29 25
Postal Division, The Adjutant General's
Office 13 7
Sections 14-18 • 7
Responsibility • 2 2
Importance 4 3
Theater of operations 23-29, 48 13, 41
Zone of Interior 9-22 5
Base post office 27 23
Censorship, Army Postal Service 5 3
Chief of Army Postal Service 12 7
Civilian postal service in theater of operations.. 49-51 41
Enemy territory, occupied 51 42
United States 50 41
Definitions, Army Postal Service 1 1
Directory service in theater of operations 28 24
Inspection and training section 15 7
Mail:
Addressing, for theater of operations 6 3
Orderlies, unit 46 34
Registered, official 8 5
Soldiers' 7 4
Transportation 31-38 26
Mission of Army Postal Service 3 3
Motor dispatch service 37 28
Official mail, registered.
Officers, postal, field ...
Divisional
51
INDEX
Paragraphs Pages
Organization of Army Postal Service 9-18 5
In theater of operations 26 17
On mobilization 11 (S
Peacetime . 13 7
Post Office, War Department agreement relative
Army Postal Service App. 43
Post Office section 16 8
Post offices:
Army 25 15
At hospital, centers 29 25
Base 27 23
Divisional 42-43 32
Postal —
Division, The Adjutant General's Office 13 7
Sections:
Administration and personnel 14 7
Inspection and training 15 7
Post Office 16 8
Supply 18 9
Transportation 17 9
Service :
In theater of operation 23-29 13
Agencies 23 13
Army 48 41
Civilian 49-51 41
Corps , 47. 40
Directory service 28 24
Divisional 40-43 32
Organization 26 17
Post offices:
Army 25, 29 15, 25
Base 27 23
Divisional 42, 43 32, 33
Postal officers:
Field 24 14
Divisional 41 32
Postal regulating section 30 25
Hegimental 44-46 34
Personnel 45 34
Orderlies, unit 46 34
Supplies, and supply depots 39 30
Transportation of mail 31 26
Air mfill routes 36 28
Animal-drawn vehicles 35 28
Army courier service 38 29
Boat lines 34 28
Motor —
Dispatch service 37 28
Truck; lines 33 28
Bail 32 27
In zone of interior 19-22 9
Post Office department 19 9
Posts, camps, stations 20 9
Postal concentration centers 21 10
52
INDEX
Paragraphs Pages
Regimental* mail service 44 34
Personnel 45 34
Unit mail orderlies 46 34
Registered mall, official 8 5
Regulating sections, postal 30 25
Soldier's mail 7 4
Supplies, postal 39 30
Depots 39 30
Supply section 18 9
Transportation of mail 31 26
Air 36 28
Animal-drawn vehicle 35 28
Army courier service - 38 29
Boat line 34 28
Motor-
Dispatch service 37 28
Truck line 33 28
Rail 32 27
Transportation section 17 9
War Department, Post Office Department agree-
ment relative Army Postal Service App. 43
Zone of the interior, postal service in 19-22 9
o
53
FM 12-105
c 1
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S FIELD MANUAL
THE ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
Changes 1 WAR DEPARTMENT,
No. 1 j Washington, December 20, 1940.
FM 12-105, November 12, 1940, is changed as follows:
DIAGRAMMATIC CHART OF FLOW OF MAIL TO AN
FROM THEATER OF OPERATIONS
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
LOCAL
POST OFFICE
POSTAL
CONCENTRATION
CENTER
NOTE- MAIL FROM THEATER OF
OPERATIONS MAY 60 TO OTHER
ZONE OF INTERIOR POSTAL
ESTABLISHMENT IF DESIRED BY
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT
Figure 1.
[A. G. 062.11 (12-20-40).]
281558°— 41
2
By order op the Secretary op War:
G. C. MARSHALL,
Official :
E, S. ADAMS,
Major General,
The Adjutant General.
Chief of Staff.
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICEi 1941