Troop Morale

Last year, on a whim, I decided to visit every post office on the same day  because leading up to Christmas, their hours get crazy and they are so busy. The Marines work longer hours and lose days off and are sadder during these 5 weeks of "Operation Santa Claus."

Since often, and especially at this point, they are not thanked, I decided to visit them, bring some doughnuts and make them feel special. I brought the CO with me because it is always nice to see the boss visit you and not the other way around. I gave doughnuts, she gave them 3 days off. They liked her more that day.

This year, building on the success, I brought the FRO (family readiness officer, civilian), one of the directors from the USO and the station manager from the Red Cross and drove them all 8 post offices, located on 7 different bases in one day.

Because we were so awesome, we visited the PMO Marines (6 different posts) on the same day too.

I believe were successful in boosting morale. I certainly enjoyed seeing my Marines' faces light up when we brought home-made candies, doughnuts and cards.