Friday, October 16, 2026
If the bombs fell, there was a plan
The ‘Mailin’ It!’ podcast looks at the Postal Service’s role in civil defense
The latest episode of “Mailin’ It!,” the USPS podcast, reveals how Post Offices would become fallout shelters, postal vehicles were to be used for emergencies, and that some employees had formed a nationwide ham radio network to be used in the event of a nuclear war.
The guests are Stephen Kochersperger, USPS historian, and Frank Blazich, a modern military historian at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.
The 36-minute episode was released Oct. 13 and is available on Link and other postal websites, as well as most podcast platforms.
People
A service member salutes her postmaster
One CA employee gets an award from the military and another recognizes the anniversary of Route 66
Jessica Escobar, a retail associate in Yuba City, CA, retired from service with the Air National Guard in September.
Her years in uniform were made possible in part by Postmaster Claire Stanley, whom Escobar nominated for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Service Member Patriot Award, an honor recognizing civilian supervisors who demonstrate exceptional support of service members and their families.
“The reason I nominated Claire is for exceeding any expectations I have ever had personally for a supervisor, leader or boss,” Escobar said.
The master sergeant presented the postmaster with the award during her military retirement ceremony.
Escobar said Stanley helped her transition back into her civilian job after tours of duty and offered a compassionate ear — and occasional tissues — when the effects of service took their toll.
“She is just a genuine, kindhearted, one-of-a-kind leader,” Escobar said.
Postmaster gets his kicks during museum ceremony
The centennial of Route 66 got the Pasadena, CA, Post Office’s stamp of approval Oct. 11, when Postmaster Brent Schaeffer unveiled a commemorative postmark honoring the highway at the Pasadena Museum of History.
“It’s an honor to celebrate Route 66 in Pasadena with this special commemorative stamp and cancellation. I can’t think of a better way to craft memories than by crafting a letter from the heart to someone you love,” Schaeffer said.
More than 300 miles of the historic “Mother Road” traversed California before the highway was decommissioned after being made obsolete by the Interstate Highway System.
USPS dedicated the Route 66 stamps in May during this year’s National Postal Forum. They are on sale at usps.com.
“People” appears regularly in Link. Got news to share? Email us.
News Quiz
They look good enough to eat
What do you know about the Christmas Cookies stamps unveiling?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. Where did the Postal Service unveil its Christmas Cookies stamps?
a) Pepperidge Farm headquarters in Norwalk, CT
b) Richard Bowling Elementary School in Norfolk, VA
c) Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC
d) The Cookie Museum in Austin, TX
2. What type of dog is featured on the Postal Service’s dog bite awareness postmark?
a) Beagle
b) Collie
c) Labrador retriever
d) German shepherd
3. Which of the following organizations repeatedly lobbied the federal government to make Columbus Day a national holiday?
a) Columbus, OH, City Council
b) Italian-American National Union
c) Knights of Columbus
d) Sons of Italy
4. What did investigators find inside the home of the Tulsa, OK, trafficker who had been ordering illegal drugs through the mail?
a) $3,600 in cash
b) Baggies
c) Digital scales
d) All of the above
5. Which of the following is not something the Postal Service can withhold as part of its commercial exemption under the Freedom of Information Act?
a) Annual revenue and expenses
b) Geolocation data
c) Negotiated terms in leases
d) Records indicating delivery lines of travel
Answers: 1) c. 2) c. 3) c. 4) d. 5) a.
Postal Bulletin navigates open season 2026
Postal Bulletin’s latest edition, published Oct. 15, covers the benefit choices available during this year’s open season.
Updates to the organization’s policies, procedures and forms are also included.
Employees can go to usps.com to read and download the latest Postal Bulletin, along with past issues.
USPS Operation Santa retail training available
The Postal Service is offering the USPS Operation Santa compliance training course for fiscal year 2027 in MyHR.
The video course explains what the USPS Operation Santa program is, how to handle the program’s letters and packages, and how to protect the personally identifiable information, or PII, of letter writers and letter adopters.
The 20-minute course has been automatically assigned to all employees who oversee retail operations, including retail associates, customer services supervisors and postmasters, in their MyHR training portal.
Although the training is geared toward employees in retail and customer service positions, it is open to all employees. To find the course, search for “FY27 Operation Santa Compliance Training” in the Learning Management System on the MyHR website.
More information is available on the Operation Santa page on Blue.
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What's included
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If the bombs fell, there was a plan
The ‘Mailin’ It!’ podcast looks at the Postal Service’s role in civil defense
-
People
A service member salutes her postmaster
One CA employee gets an award from the military and another recognizes the anniversary of Route 66
-
News Quiz
They look good enough to eat
What do you know about the Christmas Cookies stamps unveiling?
-
Brief
Postal Bulletin navigates open season 2026
-
Brief
USPS Operation Santa retail training available