Veterans and active-duty military members find a career fit with Postal Service

Two words: mail call.

That may be one of the most welcoming phrases for deployed men and women in the U.S. military, said Ross resident Mark Wahl, a strategic communications specialist for the U.S. Postal Service.

So, it’s rather fitting that the Postal Service also has been a rewarding career opportunity for more than 68,000 veteran and active-duty service members across the country.

“A ‘yinzer’ my entire life, I have been working for the United States Postal Service going on my fourth decade, and I bleed red, white and (postal) blue. The U.S. Postal Service is one of the largest employers of veterans and is always looking to recruit,” said Wahl, who recently provided a tour of 51 Pennwood Place in Warrendale, the largest Postal Service processing facility in the area.

A Navy veteran himself, Wahl is joined by other active-duty and veteran members who found a home there.

Just ask Mark Schaefer, a general expeditor.

“As a veteran, it’s a great job, having stability, just like in the military, working around other veterans who have a really good work ethic,” said Schaefer, who lives in Chippewa, Beaver Falls. “Most people in the military are ready to work.”

Schaefer served as an E-5 sonar technician petty officer second class in the Navy from 1988 to 1995 and during the first Gulf War.

Just a year after his service ended, Schaefer began as a letter carrier in McKeesport, eventually transitioning to a window clerk in Finleyville and then to Pennwood Place.

For military personnel who have gained valuable skills in service, career opportunities are extensive.

“We have more than 2,000 different job titles within the organization that align with many skillsets from military service and leadership roles. Many opportunities and benefits are available to veterans and nonveterans in the Western Pennsylvania region,” said Wahl, who splits his time between the Pennwood Place facility and Curseen-Morris Processing and Distribution Center in Washington, D.C.

The flexibility is important for Sgt. Ray Sagi of Harmony, an active-duty member of the Pennsylvania National Guard since 2008. Sagi is required to participate in monthly training with the guard.

Sagi started working for the Postal Service in 2011 as a mail handler associate at the Pittsburgh general mail facility before transferring to Turtle Creek as a letter carrier.

He soon advanced to supervisory roles in Pittsburgh and has served as a maintenance manager at Pennwood Place since about 2020.

As a medic in the National Guard, Sagi appreciates the similarities between the post office and the military.

“A lot of the structure is the same,” Sagi said. “It’s all about teamwork and commitment.”

If an active-duty member gets deployed, their seniority stays the same during deployment. Qualified veterans also can receive preference in hiring.

Leadership opportunities are achievable for anyone working in the post office with the right qualifications, Wahl said.

However, military men and women may prefer to stay in nonleadership roles or they can take advantage of in-house educational training to transfer to a more technical role.

Brian Ketter, a veteran of the Army Reserves as a sergeant first class, was deployed for 15 months in Baghdad. He now works at the Pennwood Place facility as an electronic technician.

Ketter of Elizabeth Township served in the Army until 2006 and began working the following year at the Postal Service after meeting a disabled veteran who suggested it to him. He has held various roles at USPS, including in maintenance, mail handling and as a carrier.

But after attending the National Center for Employment Development in Oklahoma, a key facility for USPS-paid training, Ketter became an electronic technician.

He was one of many military service members who applied for USPS jobs online while deployed.

Military service is treated as prior employment, where veterans can receive credit for military service toward retirement, according to usps.com.

Post office employees can request transfers to other locations in the United States.

And while the USPS uses technology to grow and enhance its services, a good old-fashioned human will always have a job at the post office.

“You can’t email a parcel,” said Tom McCune, a manager of distribution operations at Pennwood Place.

Wahl was a petty officer second class for the Navy. As a prelude to his future, he served aboard a Navy aircraft carrier and worked in the air transport office, where all the mail was handled.

Walh’s daughter is a member of the Army, with a tour in Afghanistan in 2012. Like her grandfather, she returned with nine medals, he said.

She now is a veteran service officer with the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Pennsylvania, Wahl said.

The U.S. Postal Service shares a significant milestone in 2025 with the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Each of them can trace their origins to 1775 with the founding of the United States.

Wahl said he is proud to serve with the military “who raised their right hands twice — the first time for the oath of office of the branch of service and a similar oath when they joined the Postal Service.”

To mark Veterans Day this year, the Postal Service honored employees who served in the military with a lapel pin and certificate of appreciation, he said.

For those — military and nonmilitary — seeking for employment,there are open positions at Pennwood Place and regionally, Wahl said.

To learn more, visit usps.com/careers or contact the local USPS Workforce Planning team at LocalServicesPennsylvania1District@usps.gov.