They Won't Be Home For The Holidays: A Quick Guide To Care Packages For Miltary Personnel

October 19, 2003 | VOA(me)

[VOA]

Preamble -- October 18 marks my first shipment of care packages to a Military service-person overseas
(specifically to Baghdad). I was going to do it since about summer, but hesitated...partly because I wasn't
sure how to proceed. Thus, I now present a (Very) Quick Guide to the sending of care packages.


Point #1: Timing IS EVERYTHING
Keep these DEADLINE dates in mind (from the US Navy website at this URL:
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/questions/holidaymail.html

The United States Navy

Holiday mailing — 2003

The Naval Supply Systems Command's Postal Policy Division, in cooperation with the U.S. Postal Service and military postal officials from all of the services, notes that it’s not too early to mail 2003 holiday cards, letters, and packages to and from military addresses overseas. In fact, everyone is encouraged to beat the last minute rush, and bring holiday mail and packages to the nearest U.S. Post Office or APO/FPO military post office by these suggested dates:

For military mail addressed to APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:	For military mail FROM APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:
Parcel post — Nov. 13 Space available — Nov. 28 Parcel airlift — Dec. 4 Priority mail, first class cards and letters — Dec. 11	Space available — Nov. 20 Parcel airlift — Dec. 4 Priority mail, first class cards and letters — Dec. 11

Revised: 25 September 2003

---

Point #2: Identify Your Target (Service Person)

You must have a specific service person's address for the mailing of letters or packages; the "any service man"
mailing is a thing of the past.

Even if you don't know a person serving oversears personally, you know someone who does.
Ask around, check with your faith community (church, temple, etc.), your city newspaper.
For example, my hometown newpaper even has a website with service- persons names and military
address. In my case, I contacted the employer of a U.S. Army chaplain; they had his APO (military)
address and e -mail address.

Point #3: If Sending A Package, Try To Contact The Service Person FIRST, if possible
Even though 99.999% of service personnel would love (and be happy with) a nice, supportive letter from
stateside, a package really sends the message.
Luckily, I was able to exchange e-mails with a Chaplin in Baghdad and thus he gave me a prioritized list
of school supplies his unit needs to help their adopted elementary school

Take-home message: prior contact gives the service person what they need, maximizing the benefit/cost
factor.


Point #4: Consult the USPS (United States Postal Service) for information
Talking to counter personnel is helpful, but time-consuming, so go to www.usps.gov
Consult: "Supporting Our Troops FAQs" at http://www.usps.supportingourtroops/supportingfaqs.htm
Military Addressing Tips at http://www.usps.supportingourtroops/addressingtips.htm
Military Packaging Tips at http://www.usps.supportingourtroops/packagingtips.htm
Other Ways To Support Our Troops at http://www.usps.supportingourtroops/otherways.htm

These will give you the basics and answers virtually all your questions.
For those who desire to send packages, the take-home is that you can box up goods in a "Domestic"
Priority Mail box, take it to the US Post Office, fill out a PS Form 2976-A Customs Declartion and
Dispatch Note" for each box you send.

Point #5: OBEY Restrictions on your mail! Don't tick off the host country!!
While at the "Supporting Our Troops FAQs" at http://www.usps.supportingourtroops/supportingfaqs.htm
click on the Overseas Military Mail link. Use the military "zip code" in your service person's military
address to determine which (of that huge list of) restrictions apply to your shipment.
Of course, the usual biggies are the prohibition on shipping pork and against shipping religional material'
for other than personal use by the service-person.
DON'T be intimidated by the restrictions list...take a few minutes to work through it in order to avoid
problems.

Point #6: Time to get the box and all the stuff to go in it!
Make out your shopping list
Go to the USPS office and pick up an appropriate shipping box.
In my case, I found I could load and send two "Domestic" Priority Mail boxes.
I took the box with me to the store, and noted if the items to ship would fit that box.
Load up box, leave one flap easy to open, in case the Post Office counter-person wants to
inspect the contents.
Also write out a "shipping manifest" to go into the box. This could help postal workers to
reassemble the shipment if the box should break. Xerox a copy for your records (or store
on computer)

Point #7: Time to mail!
Take your box(es) to your local post office.
Fill out a Form 2976 or Form 2976-A for customs purposes.
I used the Form 2976-A for each box. Here is the important part...put this verbatim phrase in the
box for description of the box contents:

"Certified to be a bona fide gift, personal effects, or items for personal use of
military personnel and their dependents."

Pay the shipping charges. In my case, it cost about $14 for me to send a TOTALLY packed
Priority Mail box, weighing about 10 pounds.
Priority Mail going the APO or FPO route should take 10-15 days to arrive; the less expensive
parcel route takes more like 24 days.

Point *8: Contact your service person, if possible
Because tracking is not available for even Priority Mail going through the APO/FPO
system, send an e-mail to your service-person to let them know the package is on the way;
include the "shipping manifest" in the e-mail for two reasons.
The shipping manifest lets the service-person know what material is "in the pipeline" and thus
they can customize/re-prioritize their wish-list for other donors.

[technochick99]

You are absolutely wonderful! I printed up the "hometown" list so will use that as a source until I get my own name from some website I went to. I am sure if these people get bombarded with stuff, they will gladly share the wealth.

[VOA]

I am sure if these people get bombarded with stuff, they will gladly share the wealth.
(technochick99, check your freepmail)
I'm sure that a good percentage of the stuff I've sent will end up as "re-gifting".
I get the feeling that with all the men killed in Iraq's conflict with Iran and
by Saddam and Uday, our soldiers are in a nation full of widows with kids.

I know some of the stuff I've sent (school supplies to a US Army chaplain in Baghdad)
will be going out to a rural Iraqi elementary school) and I did send more
frivoulous packages to the chaplain (hey, he's "my employee", so I can
disobey his request) and one to a soldier on my hometown list.

[TEXOKIE]

Great thread, VOA!

Even though we are past the Christmas deadline for the cheaper postage, it isnt too early to be thinking about care packages for Presidents's Day!!! :-)

So dont despair if you have missed the Christmas deadline folks....our guys and gals can be very creative when it comes to finding something to celebrate...even if the box arrives a little bit after Christmas!



EVERY LETTER IS A GOOD DAY, EVERY BOX IS CHRISTMAS!!

[TEXOKIE]

Just had some thoughts on lessons I've learned about box filler!

Once I had a real brain flash and decided to use popcorn as packing material for one of my boxes. NOW HEAR THIS!!! USE ONLY AIR POPPED POPCORN!! Apparently the oil I used to pop the corn turned everything into a sorta gummy mess... Fortunately, the things I sent were in their own plastic bags, so nothing was damaged, but it wasnt the success I was hoping for! There are also those large containers of popcorn you can get at the grocery store, so that is an option as well.

Other packing material ideas:
As someone else suggested, small packages of M&Ms kinds of candies are good to place around cookies and delicate things.

Go to your local discount grocery store and find those large bags of dry cereal. I used the Quaker Oats Cocoa Blasts for one of my boxes and that apparently was much better received than my oily popcorn disaster! Other dried sugary cereals could be used, I imagine. I chose the cocoa blasts because unlike flakes, they probably wouldnt break up as bad. However, if your trooper is a died-in-the-wool Sugar Frosted Flake addict, GO FOR IT!! I also enclosed the name and ingredients lable from the Quaker package so the trooper would know exactly what it was I sent him.

A strategy I used with my boxes: if I'm planning to use edible packing material I line my box with a plastic sack. I also put packed articles in ziplock baggies or other containers. My thinking on this was if I was over there, I would imagine that ziplocks could come in handy for a lot of uses!

Cotton socks, wash cloths, and that kind of thing are also good for cushioning those packages of much-desired Oreos and Chips Ahoy!

One thing that was a big hit with my soldier when he was in Afghanistan, was those little single use soaps and shampoos that you get from some hotel chains. So next time you are on a trip, earmark some of those for your next box! A family member in our household travels a LOT and brings home mountains of these, so I sent a bunch of them. My trooper loved them because they made GREAT gifts for the locals.

I also double-ziplock-bagged a handful of the Taco Bell taco sauce and some of the other fast food restaurant condiments. Be mindful of the idea that if it's wet, it could leak! So ziplocks, ziplocks, ziplocks!

I sent a few games that could be carried easily in a back pack. Those were a real hit. Cross word puzzle books were a hit. Sometimes in a tourist trap/truck stop you can find those decks of cards that are miniature size. Those are a real hit! (The ones I sent were about 1"x2".) The ones I chose, because they are made for the tourist trade, had State of Oklahoma imagery on them. A couple of the decks I sent had imagery from one of the other states we traveled through on a recent trip. I sent about a half dozen of those decks so my soldier could share the wealth.

If you are reluctant because of temperature reasons to send meltable chocolate, but still want your favorite choclaholic to get his/her fix, you might send some Swiss Maid, Nestle's or Ovaltine. As I understand it, if you send a powder substance, IT MUST BE IN ITS SEALED ORGINAL CONTAINER!!

EVERY LETTER IS A GOOD DAY, EVERY PACKAGE IS CHRISTMAS!!

[VOA]

EVERY LETTER IS A GOOD DAY, EVERY BOX IS CHRISTMAS!!

thanks for posting that...I was trying to recall the exact phrase...

[VOA]

All great suggestions in your post #184.
I also have been advised to generally NOT ship soap-type products in the same box with
food products.
(although I wonder if the lower temperature in Iraq might make that sort of "co-shipment"
reasonable as long as you "zip-lock, zip-lock, zip-lock!").

Additionally for lurkers/posters:
There's a lenghty thread with lots of advice and links on doing mailing of care-packages
(drop off at US Post Office, but gets handed off by them to the APO/FPO system) at
this URL: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1023324/posts


If you or friends/family want to connect with "State of Oklahoma" folks, you can check
mailing list at URL:
http://www.poncacity.com/spirit/list.asp
(mentioned in post #27)

Additional Oklahoma note: Last week there was a post at this URL:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1016898/posts

Looks like part of our storied 45th Infantry Division will be shipping out for Afghanistan soon.

[VOA]

EVERY LETTER IS A GOOD DAY, EVERY BOX IS CHRISTMAS!!

bump!

[TEXOKIE]

This thread is now a designated Prayer Warrior Field Trip destination!

For those who wish to support our troops spiritually, please feel welcome to drop by the Troop Prayer Threads to prayer and hold vigil with some very dynamic Freeper Prayer Warriors!

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/994696/posts?page=50

[SnarlinCubBear]

Ping to self

[VOA]

thanks for links and bumps!

[VOA]

thanks for bumping
and
Friday-after-Thanksgiving-shopping-for-care-packages BUMP!

[VOA]

bump for publicity

[armymarinemom]

I've seen a lot of posts on cotton socks. That has me a bit worried. Even when it was blistering hot I sent very thin wool socks. Yikes, wool in the summer!! Cotton holds moisture in inside of those boots and they can grow fungus on their feet. They have to shower in shower shoes so their feet do suffer a lot. When the temps drop to the 70's this time of the year with damp feet they get cold feet.

[VOA]

Thanks for the post on cotton socks.
If I send any socks, I'll be sure to try to get ones that have some poly-fiber content...
this helps the socks to be more "breathable".
Thus, when the sock and foot get wet (via sweat or a dip in a stream), the sock
at least has a chance to dry out over time.

And I might send a tube of one of the anti-fungals for foot problems.

[VOA]

bump for publicity

[VOA]

Burn-Thursday's-Calories-on-Friday-Shopping-For-Military- Carepackages...
BUMP!

[VOA]

bump for publicity

[VOA]

bump for publicity...and a big "Howdy" to y'all chowin' down on that turkey, stuffing,
and cranberry sauce...
tomorrow, you shop for yourself, your family, and friends...
and hopefully for some goodies to send in a carepackage to some good soul serving us all
in the military.

[VOA]

Only hours to Friday shopping mania...and picking up some goodies for those
military care-packages...to be shipped by that December 4th deadline!

oh, and BUMP!

[Yaelle]

Bump!