The 64th Adjutant General of the United States Army, Brig. Gen. Richard P. Mustion, arrived in Iraq to visit service members on Camp Victory, May 30. Mustion met with more than 40 service members from the human resources section, United States Forces " Iraq, as well as other counterpart units from across the Iraq Joint Operations Area.
Mustion, also the commanding general of the Physical Disability Agency and executive director of the Military Postal Service Agency, was given a tour of the facilities and briefed on the challenges human resources has been facing throughout the IJOA.
The current Army Adjutant General serves as the 15th executive director of the Military Postal Service Agency, which was established in 1980. As the only manager for military mail, Mustion is responsible for the movements on commercial and military aircraft, as well as commercial sealift ships to nearly 2,000 post offices throughout 85 countries.
Mustion visited Camp Victory, as well as other areas of the IJOA, to gain a better understanding of the current postal operations and issues affecting Iraq.
“This situation has been happening for about the past four to six years,” said Col. Strep R. Kuehl, directorate of Human Resources, USF-I. “Some of our government mail inadvertently ends up in the international mail system. There was an agreement between U.S. forces and Iraq to give them back to us.”
Kuehl, a Glenbeulah, Wis. native, said Mustion did a tour of their facilities to obtain firsthand knowledge of the challenges they have come across. “We have been having mail challenges here in Iraq, and over the last four months we’ve been doing our best to correct it,” Kuehl said.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jacque Nixon, executive officer of Human Resources, USF-I, and a Memphis, Tenn. native, said Mustion observed and analyzed the issues of the postal services and has expressed the need to figure out a resolution.
After the full day’s schedule, the service members gathered for a dinner at Joint Visitors Bureau Hotel, which opened the opportunity for the leaders to discuss issues and concerns with the Adjutant General.
“The USDs received the opportunity to share lessons learned, in which Brig. Gen. Mustion facilitated a round table discussion regarding our issues and courses of action,” said Maj. Rita Holton, directorate of Human Resources, United States Division " South, with the 36th Infantry Division.
During the dinner, there was discussion of a new and improved Officer Evaluation System, which allowed the Human Resource leaders to be informed and provide input about the subject.
During the conclusion of events, Mustion expressed his gratitude and thanks to his fellow counterparts.
“I appreciate the invitation to come over here and the opportunity to spend some time with you all,” said Mustion. “Be assured that everything that you have shown and given me will make it back in the hands of the right people. The best and brightest ideas in our Army come from the young junior enlisted, sergeants, to the captains and colonels who are out in the field doing the job each and every day. By taking your ideas and putting them together, we can make our system better to support our Soldiers and overall, our Army.”
Holton, a San Antonio, TX native, said the entire visit was very informative and it was really nice to meet the Adjutant General.
“I believe all of the USDs gained a better understanding of the [Human Resource] mission and the directives that come down from the Army Human Resources Command.” Holton said. “Thereby, we are able to focus on taking care of Soldiers, which is truly the bottom line about what we do.”
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