The best way to send him a package is go to the USPS and get him a LARGE “if it fits it ships” box. They have some specially decorated just for the military, but that’s not really necessary.
You can stuff it to the gills and send it to any US Military Base for the domestic rate. It’s something like $16.
My son’s in Okinawa. He get’s his packages within 7-10 days.
A USMC mom~
COOL!!!!! thanks!! I am so thankful u shared that! I am in the dark here...but determined to treat him like he was my own there and do all I can...
USMC Mom,
The large USPS Priority Mail flat rate box is about $14.00 to mail and the weight limit is 70 pounds. The heaviest flat rate box I’ve sent so far was about 22 pounds. Since a friend took command of a unit at Fallujah in 2005, I have been sending packages to Marines and sailors forward-deployed and have mailed somewhere around 500 boxes.
The timeframe from Chicago varies if the service member is at a FOB or at Camp Leatherneck. Larger brown boxes are accepted for military mail but can be pricey. A while back I sent chips and salsa and the postage was more than the value of the contents.
Once, I sent my friend several golf clubs and a bag of used golf balls and the box dimensions were only 2 inches under the maximum limit. The postage was around $80.00. Since my friend and his sergeant major are big golf nuts, the package was a big hit.
At last year’s Birthday Ball, guest of honor Ben Stein asked me why I do it; I said, “It keeps me out of trouble; besides, if not me, then who?”
You can stuff it to the gills and send it to any US Military Base for the domestic rate. It’s something like $16.
Definitely this. I've been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for a total of more than two years, and my wife sent me anything I needed/wanted in those boxes. Letters stuffed in there are fantastic as well. A box per week or so (that can get expensive, get others to rotate in with you on a schedule, if possible) with just some magazines and some candy and whatever else you want to toss his way will always be greatly appreciated. Try not to deluge him with too much stuff that he'd have to carry back home, though--proper storage space can be a pain in the neck to secure.
Also, think about taking some video of this party and cutting it together along with still images, etc all set to music and burn it to a disc for him. That won't take up much room, it's cheap to send, and it'll give him something to look at and remember home/family during his down-time.