Internet, phone cards foster holiday support efforts
The deadline for sending holiday mail to military service personnel stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan is looming.
“Mail is one of the greatest morale boosters we can give our troops during the holidays,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter. “When they see that package or letter waiting for them on their bunk or hear their name at mail call, it brings them that much closer to family and the comforts of home.”
The United States Postal Service deadline for First Class letters and cards, or packages sent via Priority Mail or Parcel Air Lift (PAL) to be mailed is Monday, Dec. 4. PAL shipments are sent on a space-available basis and must not exceed 30 pounds or 60 inches in combined length and girth.
The deadline for mailing packages or First Class letters to service personnel elsewhere in the world is the following Monday, Dec. 11. Express Mail Military Service (EMMS) deliveries to some personnel, depending on location, have a mailing deadline of Dec. 19.
This holiday season, the Postal Service is able to make Delivery Confirmation available for almost all APO/FPO destinations, Potter noted. Delivery Confirmation provides customers with the date, ZIP Code and time the package was delivered. The information can be accessed online at USPS.com.
Those sending parcels to those deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom are reminded that there are restrictions on some materials.
“Any matter depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items, or non-authorized political materials is prohibited. Although religious materials contrary to the Islamic faith are prohibited in bulk quantities, items for the personal use of the addressee are permissible,” according to military postal officials.
“Host country customs regulations mostly prohibit the entry of alcoholic beverages of any kind, narcotics, munitions, pork and pork by-products, pornography, and material contrary to the Islamic religion,” they noted.
“Letter mail is not being opened unless it appears unusually bulky, in which case it may be examined to see if it contains contraband, such as drugs. Parcel mail is being examined on a spot check basis to determine conformity with host country customs regulations and for terrorist type mailing.”
Mail not just for‘any’ soldier
The Department of Defense is urging the general public not to send unsolicited mail, care packages or donations to service members deployed unless they are a family member, loved one or personal friend.
The Any Service Member Mail program that previously allowed care packages to be delivered to unnamed service members was discontinued in 2001 due to security concerns and transportation issues.
In its place, the DoD recommends a number of support programs, including Operation Uplink, through the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which donates calling cards that allow troops and hospitalized veterans to keep in touch with loved ones.
For more information on Operation Uplink, which has distributed more than 7 million cards since it was begun in 1996, contact Linda Ferguson at (816) 756-3390 or via e-mail at lferguson@vfw.org; visit the Operation Uplink Web site at www.operationuplink.org; or write to Operation Uplink, VFW National Headquarters, 406 W. 34th Street, Kansas City, MO 64111.
People can also directly purchase cards to be sent to service members through the DoD Military Exchanges Web site at https://thor.aafes.com/scs/.
The general public can also send a greeting to troops via e-mail through Operation Dear Abby at http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/ or www.OperationDearAbby.net on the Internet.
The DoD also encourages people to make a donation to one of the military relief societies:
• Army Emergency Relief at www.aerhq.org;
• Navy/Marine Relief Society at www.nmcrs.org;
• Air Force Aid Society at www.afas.org; and
• Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at www.cgmahq.org; and to support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at www.redcross.org/services/afes/0,1082,0_321_,00.html; volunteer at a VA Hospital to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts; and support families whose loved ones are being treated at military and VA hospitals through a donation to the Fisher House at www.fisherhouse.org.
Efforts to send care packages to service members do continue, through the USO and through efforts such as that housed on the Internet at AnySolider.com.
And prepared care packages, for the service member close to home who is serving far away, or their comrades, can be purchased through www.treatanysoldier.com, reducing the red tape involved in sending a package to overseas military personnel. The deadline for TreatAnySoldier.com packages is Dec. 4.