Mail to Iraq GIs returned to senders

.Arizona Daily Star ^ | 04.17.2004 | Carol Ann Alaimo

[SAMWolf]

The family of Tucson Army Sgt. Aaron Garcia didn't need a congressional report to tell them how messed up the military mail system is.

The proof is piled up on their dining room table.

The Northwest Side family is outraged that four care packages they recently sent to Iraq were all returned to them as undeliverable this week.

It's the same week that the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released a 38-page report that revealed a raft of problems with mail delivery in Iraq including poor planning, inadequate staff training and bureaucratic inertia that has left problems unresolved for years.

Many of the problems the GAO found were also identified by the military after the 1991 Gulf War but were never fixed, the report said.

Garcia's brother, Henry Garcia, finds the situation "kind of shocking."

Sgt. Aaron Garcia, 22, who is serving with an artillery unit in northern Iraq, has been overseas since the end of January.

The packages his family sent contained allergy medication the soldier asked for, along with snacks and entertainment items.

The sergeant recently sent an e-mail home saying no one in his unit was getting mail because their wartime address was mistakenly deleted from military postal records.

Henry Garcia, 18, said he's worried his brother's morale will be hurt by the lack of mail.

"He still keeps in touch by e-mail, but it's not the same as getting a package," the younger Garcia said.

According to the GAO, concern about morale is well-founded. As part of its research, the agency surveyed a sample of nearly 130 recent returnees and found almost 60 percent were upset with the military mail system in Iraq.

Many said it took a month or more for packages to reach them, and some never arrived at all. They said the military mail system seemed unable to keep track of them as they moved around inside the war theater.

"Morale suffered, as mail from home was many service members' only link with friends and family," the GAO report said.

The investigation, ordered after hundreds of complaints to Congress and the White House last year, covered the period from August 2003 to March 2004.

While the report focused on Iraq, investigators said it was likely that similar problems would arise in any combat zone.

The Defense Department and the Military Postal Service Agency do not dispute the GAO findings, and have pledged changes including better training for military postal workers and a computerized system to track care packages through the system.

If the military fails to follow through, as it has in the past, "mail delivery will continue to suffer," the report said.

The head of a Tucson support group for military families said that can't be allowed to happen.

"Somebody needs to make this a priority," said Mary Quintana, president of Military Moms of Greater Tucson, which has had several of its care packages to troops returned as undeliverable in recent months.

"If people aren't getting their packages, they're going to feel forgotten," said Quintana. "Morale is bad enough already with everything that's going on over there."

[SAMWolf]

Grizzfan brought this article to my attention.

Thanks Grizzfan.

[Professional Engineer]

Hmmm.

[armymarinemom]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the recent changes in policies concerning troops addresses. Families had been asked to leave off Rank, and operation identifying features. Could she be placing her sons rank on the postal address?

[eastforker]

There is nothing better than a care package from home. Eating cookies your mom baked is one of the best memories a soldier can have.

[SAMWolf]

I'm not sure what the problem is. Even when I was in the Service mail was real iffy. Letters and packages come out of the order sent and sometimes came weeks after they were sent while others would get there in days. Sometimes just getting mail was a minor miracle, especailly when the unit was on the move.

[SAMWolf]

There is nothing better than a care package from home.

One of the best morale builders there is.

[cynicom]

I recall this problem existed during WWII and Korea, to be sure though, some General in the Pentagon will remedy the situation any day now.

[Veloxherc]

I had one care package take 3 months to reach me. It arrive just a few days before I went home. This was also over Christmas, when everyone was getting stuff from home I received nothing till 4 weeks later. I know what it's like for these guys not to get anything. Of course mine did show up eventually.

[FreedomPoster]

A squirrelly mail story that supports your comments.

I sent some pretty big, heavy boxes to two friends of a close friend, who were in Baghdad, for Christmas. At the same time, I sent them a cover letter telling them the boxes were coming.

The boxes arrived before Thanksgiving. I got a thank you letter, with an OIF t-shirt and patch, back before Christmas.

They got the separate cover letters (again, sent at the same time as the boxes) after the first of the year.

[Wneighbor]

I sure don't like this. I'm sitting here with packages to go... and concern over their getting them!

[armymarinemom]

I'm not sure what the problem is. Even when I was in the Service mail was real iffy. Letters and packages come out of the order sent and sometimes came weeks after they were sent while others would get there in days. Sometimes just getting mail was a minor miracle, especailly when the unit was on the move.

Mail does run the gammut. My son recieved several weeks worth of care packages all at once. During the first few weeks in Iraq he recieved nothing. The son in Afghanistan only gets packages when he back at the FOB and then only if the airspace is secure enough. We have had packages take from one week to three months.

[Itzlzha]

Many said it took a month or more for packages to reach them, and some never arrived at all. They said the military mail system seemed unable to keep track of them as they moved around inside the war theater.

I see that we have some future applicants for the USPS doing what Union scum do best....steal the mail, and loaf on the clock!

Hell, no need to take the aptitude test, they'll fit right in now!

[OldFriend]

In case no one noticed..........IT'S WAR..........

[300winmag]

Eating cookies your mom baked is one of the best memories a soldier can have.

Even when they're stale. It's still something "from home".

We've gotten our Hobbit Hole pocket knives to Iraq in times ranging from 10 days to never. The good news is, the shipment of 24 (for a whole platoon) was insured. The bad news is, between the Army, Customs, and post office, they'll probably come up with some excuse to deny the claim.

Since we are talking troop support, if anybody here has a GI somewhere who would want one of these, freepmail me, and he'll get one. This is one of our giveaways from FR's Hobbit Hole.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! That's about right.AS much as we bitch and moan for the most part the system works. Our "instant gratitude" society just expects everything to keep up including the the mail. AS frustrating as it all is, it's the way things work and IMHO it'll never be really fixed.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

This probably has to do with the troop rotations. Most every military website lists the cut-off days for sending mail to the troops.

The dates I'm sure will be changing based on the recent changes in Iraq, but the troops should have been notified - and military websites should have the info posted.

Higher-ups certainly know how important it is to get the mail through - but some of the convoys - especially non-military, may not be as eager to take those roads before the June 30th turnover, and then - up 'til election 2004...I'm sure we can expect some delays.

If we could just send cookies through the internet!

[First_Salute]

But the Bush [still running 39% of the Clinton] Administration is dressed for success ...

[SAMWolf]

I'll NEVER understand why he didn't demand the resignation of every Clinton appointee when he took Office.