| |
| 1. How long does it take for letters
or packages to get to a service member? How does
it get there? |
| Standard Transit Times (days) |
|
|
|
| |
Priority |
SAM |
Surface |
|
| |
Letters |
Parcels |
Parcels |
| Iraq |
11-13 |
11-15 |
N/A |
| Kuwait |
11-13 |
11-15 |
N/A |
| Afghanistan |
11-13 |
11-15 |
N/A |
| Africa |
15-18 |
45-60 |
N/A |
| Germany |
7-9 |
9-12 |
30-45 |
| Japan |
8-10 |
9-12 |
30-45 |
| Korea |
8-10 |
9-12 |
30-45 |
|
| Listed transit times (from the chart above) are measured
from the local post office (Anywhere, USA) to arrival at
a military postal unit overseas. This transit time
includes three to four days to go from the local post office
to the U. S. Postal Service "gateway" (New
York or San Francisco). Parcel post, however, can
take 7 to 10 days to reach the gateways. At the gateway
mail is sorted, bagged, and tagged to arrive at a military
postal unit overseas. While commercial aircraft are
very consistent, there could be a large variation in transit
times due to military aircraft schedules, weather, transportation
and military operations in theater, or movement of a service
member's unit. |
| |
| 2. How is
mail routed to Navy ships and Marine Corps units? |
| After processing at the Military Gateway, mail for Navy
and Marine forces on board ships is flown to a Fleet Mail
Center such as the one in Bahrain or Sigonella (Italy). FPO
mail is sorted and transported to the individual ships
by various means (often by small aircraft called Carrier
Onboard Delivery (COD), to an aircraft carrier), often
in conjunction with a supply mission. Vessels other
than aircraft carriers normally get their mail during port
visits or by re-supply ship if remaining at sea for longer
periods of time. |
| |
| 3. Have
Zips been given out to units? |
| Contingency ZIP Codes have been issued, and activated
to units for all Services (Army, Air Force, Navy and
Marine Corps) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Additional
contingency ZIP Codes will be issued if later warranted. |
| |
| 4. Are
there mail restrictions for deployed service member? |
| Yes, each country has customs regulations that apply
to all mail (including U.S. military mail) coming into
that country. These may include prohibitions on certain
kinds of food or entertainment products. Also, some
military units may have additional restrictions imposed
by the theater commander, such as size and weight restrictions,
to ensure logistics support can handle the mail without
delays. Military ZIP Code restrictions may change
as military units move to different locations. All
applicable restrictions for approximately 3,000 overseas
military ZIP Codes are entered into the U. S. Postal Service
computer terminals and published in the Postal Bulletin. The
general public may review details of all applicable restrictions
by going to any branch post office or the USPS public web
page www.usps.com. Here's
how to access this file:
a. The customer should click on the USPS web site.
b. Type “Postal Bulletin” in the search
engine, this will bring up the page for the bulletins.
c. Click on Bulletin, On this screen the customer
will see “VIEW ISSUES.”
d. At “VIEW ISSUES” click current issue
and this will bring you to the PDF file.
e. Click on PDF file and this will bring up the
Postal Bulletin.
f. At this point the customer can navigate to the
Postal Bulletin page that contain the Military ZIP Code
information. |
| |
| 5. What
is permissible and not permissible to be mailed to
servicemembers of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation
Enduring Freedom? |
| Conditions Applied to Military Post Offices Overseas
restriction code -E-2 restricts “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.”
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. 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.
|
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| 6. Are
there plans to censor mail to and from the theater? |
| The DOD does not, nor have any plans to censor mail. Current
laws protect the privacy of mail once it is placed within
the postal system. Custom officials under customs
laws may open packages. |
| |
| 7. Is there “Free Mail” from
the theater? |
| Yes, most areas of the Middle East have been authorized
Free Mail for personal correspondence being sent from the
service member overseas back to the U.S. Family members
sending mail to service members in a free mail zone must
pay for postage. Service members are briefed on the
Free Mail procedures when they are deployed to a Free Mail
area. A current list of Free Mail areas is attached. However,
this list should not be made available to the public. |
| |
| 8. Is there “Any Servicemember
Mail”? |
| No. With large numbers of servicemembers deployed
overseas this year, family members, friends and other Americans
who want to support the military are asking about military
mail service. A Department of Defense (DOD) News Release
highlighted the cancellation of mail programs that allowed
the general public to send mail addressed to “Any
Service Member”. While these programs were very
popular with the public, security concerns and transportation
constraints with military mail led to their cancellation. As
an alternative, the DOD News Release noted web sites that
will post messages of encouragement and highlighted opportunities
to support veterans and military families. (Click here
to read the news release) |
| |
| 9. How
can I send a care package to the men and women of OIF/OEF
OPS? |
| The general public can’t send care packages to
deployed service members as they did during past conflicts. Families
and friends may still send packages to servicemembers if
they have a name and address however, they may not use
appropriated funds. MPSA can’t provide names
and addresses of service members. The USDA publishes guidance
on food items recommended for care packages. Also,
care packages must comply with customs regulations for
the country in which the service member is located. |
| |
| 10. What
are the different classes of outbound and inbound military
mail? |
| a. Outbound (US to foreign) mail
is called "Prograde" mail and is divided
into seven (7) categories. |
| (1) Express Mail Military Service |
(5) Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) |
| (2) First Class letter, flats, and sound recordings |
(6) Space-Available Mail (SAM) |
| (3) Priority Mail |
(7) Surface, second-class, third-class, and fourth-class
mail |
| (4) Military Ordinary Mail (MOM) parcels |
|
| |
|
| b. Inbound (foreign to US) mail
is called "retrograde" mail and is divided
into five (5) categories. |
| (1) Express Mail Military Service (EMMS) |
(4) Space-Available Mail (SAM) |
| (2) Priority/First-Class Letters & Flats |
(5) Military Ordinary Mail (MOM) parcels |
| (3) Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) |
|
|
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| 11. What
special military mail services are generally available? |
| Most USPS special services, such as certified mail, registered
mail, insured mail, certificate of mailing, return receipt,
restricted delivery and return receipt for merchandise
are available in the military postal service. Collect
on Delivery (COD) and Signature Confirmation are not available. |
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