CAMP AL QA'IM, Iraq — Murfreesboro's own Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Lamb is one in a million. Actually — he was the millionth one to receive electronic mail through the MotoMail program.
"Moto" is short for "motivation," and it's what U.S. service members such as Lamb use as a means to keep contact with his friends and family back home.
This roughly two-year-old program allows U.S. service members deployed overseas to receive letters for free via an electronic system. The letters are printed and enveloped at the military post office and are in the hands of the service member within 24 hours.
On his second deployment to Iraq, Lamb admits that communicating with friends and family back home is easier thanks to Moto Mail. A motor transport operator with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion deployed to Al Qa'im, Iraq, he uses the program to keep up with everything going on at home.
"It feels good to know what's going on and I can choose to respond the same day I get the letters," said Lamb, whose job in Iraq includes building fortified battle positions, placing security barriers and improving living quarters for U.S. Service members and Iraqi Security forces.
It was a letter from his girlfriend that earned him his millionth spot.
"I didn't even know the program existed last year," said Lamb, 22,. "Now I get about six or seven Moto Mails a week from friends."
Since Marines such as Lamb don't always have access to the Internet or phones, Moto Mail is a major advance over e-mail which still relies on the recipient having computer access, said Lamb.
Moto Mail printer, folder and sealer ensure Lamb's Moto Mail letters with news from his hometown of Murfreesboro, is private and kept confidential.
With Moto Mail, he can receive his mail in a printed letter format and catch up with news from his hometown virtually overnight.
On April 24, upon returning to his unit's remote base here from a week-long outing, Lamb found a stack of Moto Mails on his bed and discovered that he had become the one-millionth Moto Mail recipient — a milestone in the Moto Mail program, according to Chief Warrant Officer 2 Cecilia E. Salter, a postal officer from 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Currently, the Marine Corps is the only U.S. military branch that has such a program for Iraq-deployed U.S. service members, according to Salter. The Marine Corps has also expanded the service to Marines and sailors aboard certain naval vessels, she said.
"This is very significant for Marines serving in an area of operations such as Al Qa'im," said Salter. "It's a major morale booster for Marines, especially those now in Iraq."
The 32-year-old Marine from Camp Pendleton, Calif., presented Lamb with a gift certificate for $250, a $50 Super Letter account credit, a "Go Postal" T-shirt and coin, and a care package filled with snacks and personal hygiene items for being the recipient of the one-millionth Moto Mail.
Lamb, a 2002 Oakland High School graduate who enrolled in the Marine Corps more than two years ago, says that without Moto Mail he would probably not find out about "everyday regular things" that go on back home.
Now more than halfway through his second deployment (his unit arrived in February), Lamb is simply looking forward to getting back home to Camp Lejeune, N.C., and hanging out with his friends and driving his brand new truck.
"I can't wait to get home and meet my new nephew," said Lamb. "As long as I stay busy and keep doing my job out here, time will go by that much faster."
For more information about Moto Mail, the "2 Way Service" program, or to create a Moto Mail account, visit www.motomail.us.
