Kitty Hawk postal workers keep the mail coming.

ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (Navy News Service)--As with any U.S. Navy ship, when USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) moves through the ocean, the mail travels around the globe to arrive aboard the ship.

From the moment it's placed into a mailbox or dropped off at a post office back in the States, until the eagerly anticipated "mail call" goes down aboard the ship, a large amount of hard work and cooperation go into making sure Kitty Hawk Sailors get their mail.

According to Postal Clerk 2nd Class (SW) Samuel Rogers, during the first leg of its journey, mail sent to Kitty Hawk is in the hands of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). USPS can send the mail along one of two routes to get to Kitty Hawk, he said.

When the ship is near Japan, the mail leaves out of San Francisco, traveling to Japan and finally to Yokosuka Naval Base.

Currently, however, with Kitty Hawk in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, mail to the ship leaves the states out of New York City, traveling to Bahrain, where the Military Postal Service takes over.

Having two routes helps the mail arrive at Kitty Hawk as soon as possible, explained Rogers. He said mail bound for Kitty Hawk comes out of whichever city the ship is closer to, making the journey as short as possible.

Rogers said once the mail reaches a military base, the civilian postal service stands down, and the crew of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30 Detachment 5, assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, embarked on Kitty Hawk, takes over.