Military Mail

From the Stars and Stripes:
"Holiday mail deadlines fast approaching"

Christmas may be almost two months away, but servicemembers and civilians stationed overseas should make plans now to get packages and cards in the mail in time for the holidays.

Customers planning to send mail by standard post should do so by Saturday, Defense Department officials said in a Navy release. Most deadlines for faster mail services fall in early December with procrastinators able to ship packages via express mail as late as Dec. 17 from Europe and the Pacific, according to the Navy. Officials in Europe said late shipping can mean longer waits in the post office and cost more money. Packages ready by Nov. 26 can be shipped via space-available mail for less.

“Space-available mail service takes longer to arrive to end destination and moves on a space-available basis once it arrives in the States,” said Lionel Rivera, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa postal operations branch public affairs officer, in a USAFE-AFAFRICA release.

Mail deadlines for APO AE Zip codes 090-098 and FPO AP 962-966:

• Standard post – Nov. 8;
• Space-available mail – Nov. 26;
• First class/priority mail (this includes letters and cards) – Dec. 10; Dec. 3 for Iraq, Afghanistan and Middle East;
• Priority mail express – Dec. 17 (not available for Iraq, Afghanistan and Middle East).

 

^ I hated having to remember all of this when I lived in Germany. Then for years I had to follow the deadlines to send mail to family in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't have to remember these dates this year because you can't send mail to the US military Iraq (and they can't send any out.) So this year the Red Cross has stopped its national support of sending holiday cards to US soldiers and many in Iraq can't get any mail at all. That is a huge problem that the US Military, Congress, the US Post Office and Obama need to fix. You can't send soldiers to fight and be away from loved ones (especially during the holidays) and not let them receive any mail. ^

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/holiday-mail-deadlines-fast-approaching-1.312508