Postal Officers are Special Staff Officers who manage postal operations and postal services at installations, commands, and while deployed. They act as Installation Official Mail Managers, ensuring that the Official Mail Cost Control Program (OMCCP) works effectively.

Postal Officers represent the commanding officer to the other services, tenant activities, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for all postal and official mail matters. On behalf of the Commanding General, they serve as Liaison to the Military Postal Service Agency and local U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Postmasters for all postal related issues, and conduct post office inspections and audits. Postal officers must possess good communication skills, orally and in writing, to effectively resolve customer issues and represent the Commanding General.

They must be trustworthy to manage postal retail operations and be proficient with Marine Corps, DoD, and USPS postal policies and regulations. Postal Officers generally oversee the affairs of mail delivery for an installation or forward base, as well as the distribution of mail to subordinate units.

There are roughly 18 Postal Officers in the entire Marine Corps, making it one of the least dense MOS's in the fleet. Marines selected to become 0160's are almost always previous 0161 Postal Clerks, and will receive their MOS upon graduation from the Postal Operations and Supervisor's Course, Fort Jackson, South Carolina.