14 FAH-5 H-600
dpo mAIL security
14 FAH-5 H-610
authority and responsibility
(CT:DPO-31; 07-30-2021)
(Office of Origin: A/LM)
14 FAH-5 H-611 applicability overseas
(CT:DPO-31; 07-30-2021)
a. This section applies only to Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) mail overseas.
b. For mail security matters, see the U. S. Postal Service (USPS) Domestic Mail Manual (DMM); the USPS Administrative Support Manual (ASM) Section 274; and the USPS Postal Operations Manual (POM).
c. The terms “mail sealed against inspection,” and “sealed mail” denotes mail on which appropriate postage is paid, and which, under postal laws and regulations, is included within a class of mail maintained by the USPS for the transmission of letters sealed against inspection. “Mail not sealed against inspection,” and “unsealed mail” indicates mail on which appropriate postage for sealed mail is not paid, and which under postal laws or regulations is not included within a class of mail maintained by USPS for the transmission of letters sealed against inspection. (See USPS ASM 13, Chapter 2, sections 274.21 and 274.22.)
d. DPO personnel shall preserve and protect the security of all mail in their custody from unauthorized opening, inspecting, reading of contents or covers, tampering, delaying, or any other unauthorized acts.
e. 18 U.S.C. 1700 Desertions of mail: Any employee, having taken charge of any mail, voluntarily quits, deserts, abandons or discards mail, that has been entrusted to them as part of their daily duties, shall be fined or imprisoned, under this title, not more than one year, or both. An employee may only leave mail, at the DPO post office, or turn said mail over to another DPO employee, or the postal supervisor.
f. DPO employees shall follow proper mail security procedures by protecting sealed mail against inspection and processing it, or by moving it through the U.S.-approved mail stream without interruption to its destination. If there are personal security or safety issues that are associated with handling the mail in question, the DPO supervisor shall isolate the item and immediately notify the regional security officer (RSO), the postal officer (PO), and the Office of Diplomatic Pouch and Mail (DPM).
14 FAH-5 H-612 role of postal officers
(CT:DPO-31; 07-30-2021)
a. Postal officers (POs) are responsible for implementing mail policies and procedures at posts with DPO facilities (see 14 FAM 763). The Department of Defense also appoints POs at missions with military postal services (see 14 FAH-4 H-113.1). The PO’s duties are outlined, but are not limited to the responsibilities listed below:
(1) Managing daily DPO mail operations, to include the protection of mail, the identification of items that cannot be mailed, and the handling of suspicious mail;
(2 Insuring that mail room staff is familiar with, and adhering to, 14 FAM 760 and 14 FAH-5 and USPS regulations pertaining to personal mail;
(3) Reporting fraud, waste, and abuse of personal mail policies to DPM;
(4) Jointly reviewing with the RSO annually, the bureau or post’s mail security plan;
(5) Overseeing the proper use of mail supplies and equipment;
(6) Notifying the RSO and DPO regional desk officer immediately of all suspected or known postal offenses and losses via email, and submitting a postal offense report (see 14 FAH-5 Exhibit H-612) via ILMS DPO within 24 hours;
(7) Restricting entry to all mail facilities to only authorized personnel;
(8) Cooperating with U.S. postal inspectors regarding complaints, inquiries and claims. Postal officers should encourage customers to report missing mail directly to the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); and
(9) Ensuring individual mail lock boxes are assigned properly.
b. Postal officer’s functions are inherently governmental and cannot be performed by a contractor.
14 FAH-5 H-613 THROUGH H-619 UNASSIGNED
14 FAH-5 Exhibit H-612
Postal Offense Reporting Procedures
(CT:DPO-31; 07-30-2021)
a. What is a postal offense? Postal offenses are occurrences that violate laws or USPS and State Department regulations or jeopardize the security of mail or other USPS property. These offenses include, but are not limited to:
(1) Mailing of illegal drugs or other prohibited matter;
(2) Theft, rifling, delay, destruction, or interception of mail while under the jurisdiction or custody of the DPO at all levels;
(3) Alteration, destruction, or other unauthorized disposition of postal records;
(4) Use of the mail to defraud;
(5) Robbery, burglary, or forceful entry of DPO postal activities or USPS facilities located on the Department’s installations operated by Department personnel;
(6) Abuse or unauthorized use of DPO privileges (e.g., allowing unauthorized personnel to use the address of an authorized user to receive mail); and
(7) Theft, destruction, manipulation, misappropriation, or embezzlement of postal funds, mail keys, stamps, and stamped paper, including meter postage, postage value imprinters, or postmarking devices.
b. POs shall submit postal offense reports in ILMS DPO. See ILMS DPO Training Guide for instructions on how to complete a postal offense report. The ILMS DPO Training Guide is available on the ILMS-DPO Home Page. For additional guidance, please visit the ILMS Self-Service Portal and open an ILMS Support Desk ticket to DPM for assistance. Please note that if this is your first time using the ILMS Self-Service Portal, you will be required to first create a ServiceNow account. To do so, navigate to the Self-Service Portal through ILMS (OpenNet | Go Browser). We highly recommend saving these links as bookmarks for future use. Once there, select the “DPM/DPO/MMS AnswerPerson Policy Request card located in the bottom-right corner.