Sending Military Mail in Time for the Holidays
Cudahy WI — As the nation turns its attention to those who served their country today, the U.S. Postal Service is reminding friends and families of current service members about the shipping options available for sending packages, cards and letters to military addresses around the world for the upcoming holiday season.
To help the friends and families of service members, the Postal Service offers four different size and shape options at convenient flat-rate pricing, including a Priority Mail APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box that provides a $2 discount for APO/FPO destinations. At nearly 800 cubic inches and measuring 12" x 12" x 5 ½", the box is 50 percent larger than other Postal Service flat-rate boxes. The price to ship anything that fits in the box is just $11.95 to APO/FPO destinations, regardless of how much it weighs, up to 70 lbs. The price to U.S. addresses is just $13.95. Additional discounts are available for customers printing their Priority Mail postage labels online using Click-N-Ship at usps.com/clicknship. Mail sent to overseas military addresses is charged only domestic mail prices.
The Postal Service expects to process more than 30 million pounds of mail destined for overseas military installations during November and December, including war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Whether you’re shipping to U.S. or international military destinations, our Large Flat Rate Box is the best overall value in the marketplace,” said (Cudahy) Postmaster (Mark Groshek). “Our Large Flat Rate Box gives customers shipping gifts to military personnel a simple, flat rate regardless of how much the package weighs or how far it’s going. If it fits, it ships.”
The Postal Service continues to show its support by offering free Military Care Kits, designed specifically for military families sending packages overseas. The mailing kits can be ordered by calling
1-800-610-8734 and asking for the Care Kit. Each kit includes two “America Supports You” Priority Mail Large Boxes, four Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes, six Priority Mail labels, one roll of Priority Mail tape and six customs forms with envelopes.
Ordering Priority Mail APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo and detailed information about mailing letters and packages to military destinations is available online at usps.com/supportingourtroops.
Customers can order Priority Mail boxes online at usps.com/supplies, by calling 1-800-610-8734, or by picking them up in Post Offices nationwide.
All Priority Mail and Express Mail packages and envelopes are environmentally friendly, exceeding the highest standards for recyclability.
To ensure delivery of holiday cards and packages by Dec. 25 to military APO/FPO addresses overseas, the Postal Service recommends that mail for service members be entered no later than the mailing dates listed below.
Mail addressed to military Post Offices overseas is subject to certain conditions or restrictions regarding content, preparation and handling. APO/FPO addresses generally require customs forms. To see a table of active APO/ FPO addresses and mailing restrictions by individual APO/FPO ZIP Codes, go to pe.usps.com and click “Postal Bulletins” in the left column. Select the current issue and look for the heading “Overseas Military Mail.”
MILITARY MAILING DEADLINES
Military Mail Addressed To Express Mail® Military Service (EMMS) 1/ First-Class Mail® Letters and Cards Priority Mail® Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) 2/ Space Available Mail (SAM) 3/ Parcel Post®
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 090-092 Dec-18 Dec-11 Dec-11 Dec-4 Nov-28 Nov-13
APO/FPO AE ZIP 093 N/A Dec-4 Dec-4 Dec-1 Nov-21 Nov-13
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 094-098 Dec-18 Dec-11 Dec-11 Dec-4 Nov-28 Nov-13
APO/FPO AA ZIP 340 Dec-18 Dec-11 Dec-11 Dec-4 Nov-28 Nov-13
APO/FPO AP ZIPs 962-966 Dec-18 Dec-11 Dec-11 Dec-4 Nov-28 Nov-13
1/ EMMS: EMMS is available to selected military Post Offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine if this service is available to your APO/FPO of address.
2/ PAL: PAL is a service that provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis. It is available for Parcel Post
items not exceeding 30 pounds in weight or 60 inches in length and girth combined. The applicable PAL fee must be
paid in addition to the regular surface rate of postage for each addressed piece sent by PAL service.
3/ SAM: SAM parcels are paid at the Parcel Post postage rate with maximum weight and size limits of 15 pounds in weight
and 60 inches in length and girth combined. SAM parcels are first transported domestically by surface and then to
overseas destinations by air on a space-available basis.
The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited Web site in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the Postal Service would rank 26th in the 2008 Fortune 500.
