Combat Zone Shopping Habits

Strategy Page ^ | October 10, 2008

[frankenMonkey]

And it’s flat rate, about $10, for under 14 pounds.

[frankenMonkey]

You'll need Customs Forms: here
and envelopes: here

Depending upon what your time is worth, having somebody do all the packing and forms may be worth the cost...

[HiJinx]

Using the USPS.COM web site, you can fill out the customs forms online.

You’ll need to order the sleeves there, also; or hope that your local post office has them on hand.

[HiJinx]

I see you beat me to it with the links...

[frankenMonkey]

Yep. Time to go watch some football, I think...!

[Sarajevo]

One of the unexpected military impacts of the Internet is the stress Internet shopping has placed on the military mail system.

The period of the largest stress occurs in November/December every year.

The personnel at the JMMT on Victory Base have their hands full. In 2006, we had upwards of 4 mail aircraft per day come in. 4 aircraft may not sound like much, but each aircraft needs to be downloaded, the mail needs to be sorted and prepared for shipment to the many APO's in theatre.

The outgoing mail must be x-rayed for hazardous materials, sorted, palletized, and loaded on the aircraft so it can depart.

This may not sound like much to the uninitiated, but it is very labor intensive. Very little of the process is mechanized.

[HiJinx]

The Postal Clerks are some of my unsung heroes...

[Danette]

Thanks, you guys, I’m learning. We’ll be sending a box off on Wednesday.

[LonePalm]

The local office of our major defense contractor company just shipped 300 cans of glow-in-the-dark silly string to the troops in Iraq. They spray it into rooms to find trip wires. The glow-in-the-dark part shows up on their night vision devices.

It was financed completely through employee donations.

Over the last three years, our office alone has contributed over $3,000 dollars just in postage to ship stuff to the troops.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[HiJinx]

Good work, FRiend!

[LonePalm]

After doing my time on the pointy end of the spear, the least I can do is help hold the handle.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[HiJinx]

Amen!

[billorites]

"The local office of our major defense contractor company just shipped 300 cans of glow-in-the-dark silly string to the troops in Iraq."

I'm really amazed that I'm hearing all these stories for the first time.

I don't have family or friends in theater and this is all news to me.

[patriciaruth]

You must have a non-profit org status, or was it Wal*Mart itself that sent the boxes on their own?

[HiJinx]

I’m the President/CEO of a non-profit organization, yes.

In fact, I’m working on a state registration package as we speak. The paperwork never seems to end!