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American Morning
Sorting Mail for the Troops
Aired February 20, 2003 - 08:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back here at Camp Doha. They say this could be the most critical aspect of the entire military operation. Check out this pile right here. There are stacks and stacks of mail in this warehouse that we have set up here at Camp Doha. A hundred thousand men and women, the only way to get communication in many respects is through this warehouse here, through mail. This one is going out to Camp New York. Camp New York, at least one of the dozen camps set up out in the desert in northern Kuwait, 24-hour operation. They handle again about 30,000 pounds a day, and Captain Dan Brace is the guy largely responsible for all of it.
How are you?
CAPT. DAN BRACE, U.S. ARMY: Good.
HEMMER: When they tell me that with war looming, this is probably the most critical aspect of a soldier or a Marine, are they kidding?
BRACE: It's absolutely correct. No question in my mind that the number one thing for morale is mail, and you can just see the look on the faces when they get a package. It just lifts their morale.
HEMMER: I can bet. This right here is an MRE that are so delicious, by the way. You have come across some very peculiar aspects of mail for how resourceful people can be.
BRACE: Absolutely, and you have to be resourceful. What used to be an MRE becomes a package, and all they have to do is write the address on there, and we can mail it out.
Furthermore, just a little a piece of cardboard that was in the MRE can become a postcard.
HEMMER: So they write on this here, that says free mail.
BRACE: Right, stamps aren't needed over here to send letters back home.
HEMMER: What is this box down here?
BRACE: Well, this is basically the water we're drinking every day here. These are -- we see these most commonly, as outgoing packages. All you have to do is stick an address on there and, bam, it becomes a package.
HEMMER: And they get it down to you here? BRACE: Yes, absolutely.
HEMMER: Also, there is incoming mail from the U.S. This really caught my eye here. It says, "Hey, daddy, I miss you. Dear daddy, I love you." I got to think in a lot of ways that really warms the heart.
BRACE: It really brings us home to here. We see something like that and treat every package like it's our own. I mean, I know I was sorting through mail the other night, and I, myself, got a package from my lovely wife.
HEMMER: You did?
BRACE: Yes, my lovely wife sent me a package, and you know, my morale just shot up, I was able to work the rest of the night after that.
HEMMER: What did your face look like after that?
BRACE: I don't remember work the rest of the night, because I was just happy.
HEMMER: There is a snowstorm back east. I know you get your mail through JFK. There was no shipment yesterday, so that 30,000 pounds per day figure goes to what now?
BRACE: Right now, it's the calm before the storm. It's going to hit about 60,000 pounds of mail today.
HEMMER: Job well done. Thank you, Captain. You got a piece of the pony express?
BRACE: Absolutely.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 20, 2003 - 08:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back here at Camp Doha. They say this could be the most critical aspect of the entire military operation. Check out this pile right here. There are stacks and stacks of mail in this warehouse that we have set up here at Camp Doha. A hundred thousand men and women, the only way to get communication in many respects is through this warehouse here, through mail. This one is going out to Camp New York. Camp New York, at least one of the dozen camps set up out in the desert in northern Kuwait, 24-hour operation. They handle again about 30,000 pounds a day, and Captain Dan Brace is the guy largely responsible for all of it.
How are you?
CAPT. DAN BRACE, U.S. ARMY: Good.
HEMMER: When they tell me that with war looming, this is probably the most critical aspect of a soldier or a Marine, are they kidding?
BRACE: It's absolutely correct. No question in my mind that the number one thing for morale is mail, and you can just see the look on the faces when they get a package. It just lifts their morale.
HEMMER: I can bet. This right here is an MRE that are so delicious, by the way. You have come across some very peculiar aspects of mail for how resourceful people can be.
BRACE: Absolutely, and you have to be resourceful. What used to be an MRE becomes a package, and all they have to do is write the address on there, and we can mail it out.
Furthermore, just a little a piece of cardboard that was in the MRE can become a postcard.
HEMMER: So they write on this here, that says free mail.
BRACE: Right, stamps aren't needed over here to send letters back home.
HEMMER: What is this box down here?
BRACE: Well, this is basically the water we're drinking every day here. These are -- we see these most commonly, as outgoing packages. All you have to do is stick an address on there and, bam, it becomes a package.
HEMMER: And they get it down to you here? BRACE: Yes, absolutely.
HEMMER: Also, there is incoming mail from the U.S. This really caught my eye here. It says, "Hey, daddy, I miss you. Dear daddy, I love you." I got to think in a lot of ways that really warms the heart.
BRACE: It really brings us home to here. We see something like that and treat every package like it's our own. I mean, I know I was sorting through mail the other night, and I, myself, got a package from my lovely wife.
HEMMER: You did?
BRACE: Yes, my lovely wife sent me a package, and you know, my morale just shot up, I was able to work the rest of the night after that.
HEMMER: What did your face look like after that?
BRACE: I don't remember work the rest of the night, because I was just happy.
HEMMER: There is a snowstorm back east. I know you get your mail through JFK. There was no shipment yesterday, so that 30,000 pounds per day figure goes to what now?
BRACE: Right now, it's the calm before the storm. It's going to hit about 60,000 pounds of mail today.
HEMMER: Job well done. Thank you, Captain. You got a piece of the pony express?
BRACE: Absolutely.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
