501st CSW post offices add four to zip code

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Brian Stives
  • 501st Combat Support Wing Public Affairs
RAF ALCONBURY, United Kingdom --  Beginning July 1, members of the 501st Combat Support Wing and its Mission Partners will begin receiving their mail more efficiently when the post offices within the wing begin using the Optical Character Reader (OCR), a fully automated mail-sorting system.

"Plus 4" is four numbers added to your current zip code in correspondence to your box number. The numbers assigned are stored in the U.S. Postal Service sorting database.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, the OCR reads the delivery address from the bottom up. If the OCR recognizes the zip code and the Plus 4 numbers, the mail goes in a designated tray corresponding to the destination. If it is not recognized, the OCR sends the mail into a bin for manual processing.

By including the Plus 4 numbers, customers at the RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton, RAF Menwith Hill and RAF Molesworth post offices could receive their mail a day earlier than they normally do.

"The RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth post offices receive and processes roughly 1,700 letters per day," said Master Sgt. Raymond Caudillo, 423rd Communications Squadron RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth postmaster.

The RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton and RAF Molesworth post offices receive trays of mail containing 400 to 500 letters per tray that postal clerks spend hours sorting out, said Caudillo. With the Plus 4, the mail will already be sorted when it arrives at the post office and be put in the correct box quicker.

"It is beneficial for you to know your Plus 4 and to have it updated in the Address Management System when you Permanent Change of Station," said Staff Sgt. Brian Trahan, 422nd Communications Squadron RAF Croughton assistant postmaster. "When members PCS to their new location, a change in address will be completed with the Postal Service and any mail sent to their mailbox within the 501st Combat Support Wing will be automatically sorted in the U.S. and rerouted to the member's new address."

To find out the "Plus 4" portion of the zip code, visit the following link and complete all required fields: https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action.