Massive mail backlog found at Walter Reed; Thousands of letters, packages dating back to May 2006 undelivered to injured troops

Above: Iraq war veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for inpatient physical therapy.

Army officials scrambled to deliver thousands of undelivered letters and packages – some with postal dates from May 2006 – addressed to soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Though the backlog was discovered in the hospital’s brigade combat center last week, Army leadership did not announce its efforts to correct the situation until issuing a press release at almost 6 p.m. EST Friday. The release was titled, “Army takes immediate action to deliver backlogged mail.”

Army spokesman Paul Boyce said late Friday that the backlog piled to some 4,500 pieces of mail because the contract employee mail clerk could not locate the soldiers or staff members to whom they were addressed, and instead left them in the mail room without further processing.

“That was not satisfactory,” said Boyce.

Read the rest at Army Times

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