Tuesday, November 4, 2025
USPS to honor employees who are veterans
They’ll receive a lapel pin and certificate of appreciation
To mark Veterans Day this year, the Postal Service will honor employees who served in the military with a lapel pin and certificate of appreciation.
The items will be mailed to the home address of every employee who is known to be a veteran.
To ensure they receive their pin and certificate, employees who are veterans should go to the MyHR website to update their contact information and self-identify their military status.
Additionally, USPS managers can go to eBuyPlus to purchase water bottles and tumblers that can be distributed during local military appreciation ceremonies.
This year’s Veterans Day activities will also include a video message featuring Postmaster General David Steiner and other speakers. The video is slated for release this week on Blue, LiteBlue and Link.
Employees who have questions can email the USPS military team.
On the Job
She’s down to earth
This employee takes pride in supporting USPS sustainability goals
My name is Brenda Adams and I’m a project manager for the Postal Service’s sustainability initiatives group in Washington, DC.
I’ve been with USPS for 30 years and with this group in one capacity or another since 2007; back then, we were called energy initiatives.
In this position, I manage the BlueEarth Federal Recycling Program and the How2Recycle program.
The BlueEarth Federal Recycling Program is a USPS sustainable mail service that more than 30 federal agencies use to refurbish, reuse or recycle small electronics. I’m the administrative manager for fedrecycling.com, which supports more than 43,000 contacts throughout the government. This year, we’ve helped the federal government recycle more than 295,600 pounds of electronics using U.S. Mail.
We also work with the How2Recycle program to use an easy-to-read package labeling system to help customers recycle or dispose of our packaging properly. We’ve been participating in How2Recycle since 2019 and have applied recycling symbols to approximately 200 USPS items, including Priority Mail and Ready Post packaging and printed publications.
I work closely with teams throughout the Postal Service, especially during the ad review process. It’s my job to make sure placement of the recycling label is in accordance with both How2Recycle’s standards and our own policies and that the label is visually consistent with the USPS brand.
One of the tenets of the Postal Service’s strategic plan is environmental stewardship, and I’m proud to help contribute to our objectives through the programs I manage.
Beyond that, I also help manage my section’s budget and pitch in where needed. I’ve been with the group for a long time, so I’m kind of like the sounding board for the team.
It’s never a boring day, and I like that.
“On the Job,” a column on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.
It’s important to stay on the up and up while on duty
There are rules governing how you use your position, information and time
The Postal Service is reminding employees that federal rules govern the use of their position, nonpublic information and time.
Employees cannot use their title or authority to benefit themselves, their friends or their family, and they cannot use their position to give friends and family members special treatment or access.
For example, an employee cannot put in a good word for a friend so that a Post Office hires that friend’s landscaping company.
Another example: An employee cannot reference the Postal Service or their postal title and then make a favorable statement online about a postal vendor. Only the postmaster general or the full executive leadership team are authorized to endorse a company, product or service on behalf of the Postal Service.
Employees also cannot use nonpublic postal information to benefit themselves or their friends or family.
Employees also should only work on USPS matters while on duty.
In certain instances, employees can use limited amounts of Postal Service time for personal tasks, such as scheduling a medical appointment. But an employee cannot have a two-hour conversation with a friend or watch a baseball game online while on duty.
For more information, employees can email the USPS Ethics Office or call 202-268-6346.
Wi-Fi can pose a cybersecurity threat
Don’t connect your own smart devices to USPS equipment
The Postal Service is reminding employees and contractors to take steps to ensure their smart devices don’t compromise the organization’s cybersecurity.
Smart devices — including phones, tablets, watches, fitness trackers, medical monitors, appliances and televisions — can connect to the internet and interact via Wi-Fi. This network is known as the Internet of Things.
These devices are convenient, but they pose cybersecurity risks because users don’t always maintain proper security updates or use strong passwords.
To limit cybersecurity breaches:
• Stay current on all software updates and security patches.
• Disable the online connection if a device can operate without connecting to the internet.
• Change the default passwords and create unique passwords and passphrases.
• Use a router to keep devices secure when connecting to the internet at home.
• Never plug your personal smart devices into USPS equipment.
The CyberSafe at USPS Blue and LiteBlue pages have more information.
Mail
Bringing a killer to justice
This reader praises the Inspection Service’s new documentary
Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.
Fly flags at half-staff to honor Cheney
Postal Service facilities should fly U.S. flags at half-staff to honor Dick Cheney, the former vice president who died Nov. 3.
Flags should be flown at half-staff until the day of interment, which hasn’t been announced.
To fly the flag at half-staff, hoist the flag to the peak for an instant and then lower it to the half-staff position. The flag should be raised to the peak again before it’s lowered for the day.
The USPS Administrative Support Manual has additional guidelines on U.S. flag display and maintenance.
Employees must complete environmental training
The Postal Service is reminding employees to complete their mandatory environmental compliance training.
Fleet and maintenance employees have required training on waste management, including used oil, bulbs and batteries and other potentially hazardous materials.
Employees in these positions automatically receive training assignments based on their occupational code and associated job responsibilities. The assignments will be displayed in the employee’s profile on the MyHR website under “Assigned Training.”
Employees may require additional MyHR training, depending on the equipment, operations and permits and plans at the site where they are located. These employees should contact their designated USPS environmental specialist for assistance.
The USPS Environmental Training Matrix on Blue has more information.
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USPS to honor employees who are veterans
They’ll receive a lapel pin and certificate of appreciation
-
On the Job
She’s down to earth
This employee takes pride in supporting USPS sustainability goals
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It’s important to stay on the up and up while on duty
-
Wi-Fi can pose a cybersecurity threat
Don’t connect your own smart devices to USPS equipment
-
Mail
Featured reader quote
“Thanks for the story about ‘Ambush in Andrews,’ the new documentary from the Postal Inspection Service. The attack on Andrews, SC, Rural Carrier Irene Pressley was horrible,...”
— Thomas Alexander, North Greece, NY
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Brief
Fly flags at half-staff to honor Cheney
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Brief
Employees must complete environmental training