Sending holiday gifts to family members and soldiers serving in the military
… Start shopping now so you can ship early to your overseas service members with APO, FPO or DPO addresses …
Receiving a care package from home can be a real spirit booster for a deployed service member. Do you have a son or daughter serving in the armed forces? Or Is your girl friend, boy friend or spouse in the military? If so it is time to get those Christmas gifts ordered and shipped to your soldiers. Depending on where your member of the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy or Diplomatic Service is stationed it can take as long as six weeks for a package to reach a military address. Online retailer Arttowngifts.com recommends shipping Christmas gift packages early to account for uncertain delivery times.
What should you know about sending packages to a military address?
How Military Addresses Work
The military assigns special addresses to personnel serving in a branch of the military, department of defense or diplomatic core. While military addresses conform to regular postal addresses, in place of the city there are abbreviations such as APO, FPO or DPO. Then instead of a state the military uses three acronyms including AA, AE or AP which stand for regions. Here are references you may find helpful:
- AA stands for Armed Forces Americas, serving all of the U.S., Central America and South America, excluding Canada.
- AE stands for Armed Forces Europe, serving Europe, Canada, Africa and the Middle East
- AP stands for Armed Forces Pacific, serving Asia and the Pacific
This designation determines the holding center to which the United State Postal Service referred to as USPS will deliver packages. Those marked AA are delivered to a holding center in Miami. AE designated packages are routed to New York City, and AP marked packages are sent to San Francisco. The first leg of the trip for a military address must start via the US Postal Service. Then the USPS delivers these packages to one the holding centers based on the state designation which refers to the ultimate destination of each package. As you may have guessed this means that you can not ship packages to service people via private shippers such as United Parcel Service (UPS) or Federal Express.
At these holding centers, the postal service transfers custody of the packages to the Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA). From there the military handles transport and delivery to the recipient’s final unit location where ever in the world that maybe. It is important to understand that once this hand off occurs in most cases all package tracking stops. Also it is here that we can no longer predict how long this leg of the trip is going to take. This lack of tracking and shipping time frame predictability is because the military uses the next available transport for the packages. So military mail and packages piggy backs its way toward the ultimate destination. Just imagine the possible logistics your package might face along its way! Your package might go by a combination of boat, plane and ground transportation before it reaches the recipient. If the recipient’s station is in a particularly remote or risky area, delivery may take extra time. Peak holiday times also result in slow delivery, so account for this as well.
Accuracy Counts
Making sure that your soldier receives their Christmas gifts starts with a correct address. So take special care to make absolutely sure that you have the correct address. Even the smallest mistake can result in a lost package. And be fore warned you most likely will not get it back. Some soldiers do not understand the importance of this address format. In other cases a relative may have passed the address on to you and changed the format without understanding how they work. For example they will often try to add to the foreign country to the address.
A correct address looks something like this:
SGT Example Soldier
PSC 600 BOX 92
APO, AE 09496–0074
Also make certain that the recipient actually has a military address. For example, if a friend is visiting a soldier, the shipped package still has to be addressed to the soldier even if the gift is for the visiting friend or even a family member of the soldier. In most cases undeliverable packages are not returned to the shipper. Please do not send mail addressed to “Any Service Member” that does not name a specific individual. Due to security concerns, such mail is not allowed. If you are interested in supporting the troops by sending care packages to soldiers contact your local veterans organizations or participate with groups such as one of the following:
Cost of Shipping to Military Addresses
The price of shipping to military addresses is normally the same as domestic postage. In some cases the postal service offers a special discount on flat rate boxes. Military addresses are still considered domestic even if the final destination is on foreign soil.
What Can I Send?
Forget about fresh flowers, fruits and things that will melt! Even chocolates should be avoided in most cases due to the fact that temperature controls may be lacking during transport. Mail going to personnel through the Military Postal Service Agency is subject to the host country customs requirements. Common prohibited items include alcohol, firearms, perishable food items, flammable materials and fruits. Soldiers serving in the Middle East or Afghanistan cannot receive a bulk amount of material contrary to the Islamic faith, pork or pork by-products or material considered pornographic or politically inflammatory. Be sure to consider the amount of time your package may likely be in transit. Arttowngifts.com reports that they frequently turn away orders for fresh bakery items due to their perishable nature. Here are some ideas for items to include in care packages we have gathered from those in the field:
- Energy Bars, Granola Bars, Breakfast Bars
- Beef Jerky — Make sure the meat is labeled USDA Beef.
- Drink Mixes that mix with water such as cocoa, instant coffee and creamer, tea bags and water flavor additives.
- Snacks including chips, pretzels, nuts and crackers
- Cookies including packaged not fresh baked such as Oreos or Aminal Cookies
- Hard Candy such as Skittles, Jelly Bellies, Starbursts, Sweet Tarts and Cracker Jacks — Avoid chocolate that might melt
- Gum
- Hand Wipes
- Chap Stick
- Eye Drops
- Lotions in original packaging or in a baggie to prevent leaking
- Goggle Style Sunglasses
- Cotton Socks
- Playing Cards
- Reading Material such as paperback books, magazines and comics
- Crossword Puzzle Books and Word Games
- Jigsaw Puzzles
- Games and Toys such as foam footballs, stress balls, frisbees, hacky sacks and yo-yos
- Electronics such as handheld games, dvd players
- Batteries – If you send a battery operated device removed the battery and put in container separately so that the item does not turn on during transport.
- Flash lights
- Multiple Purpose Tools
- Disposable camera
How to Pack
Start by making a trip to your local post office and picking up several of the free Priority Mail boxes. They come in several sizes one of which is sure to meet your needs. Even better your package will qualify for a flat rate shipping rate instead of being assessed postage based on weight on and distance. Line the box with a garbage bag. Then pack the items so that they are secure and can not move around. Put any liquids in their own zip lock bags to prevent them from leaking on the other contents. If you need to add packaging materials why not use a local newspaper? If you have fragile items use bubble wrap. On the top of the contents add a copy of the sender and recipient’s address on a card inside the box along with any gift card you want to add for the recipient. Now close the box and seal it with clear packing tape. Be sure to seal all open seams with packing tape on the sides and at the bottom of the box. It has a long way to go so it needs to be package much more securely than a normal shipping box. In order to ship to a military address you will need to take the box to the postal service so you can apply your shipping label now and then proceed to the local post office where you will pay postage and complete a special form required for these packages. The clerk will be able to assist you. Remember that you can not take these package to any place other than a post office to ship.
Ship Early
Keep in mind that calculating a delivery date for a military address is not possible. Instead of a regular daily or weekly scheduled delivery time, the delivery process for military addresses depends on a combination of the location and available transport. This lack of a delivery schedule makes it necessary to ship packages very early to account for uncertain delivery time frames. Start shopping now for holiday gifts and send presents early and accurately to be sure your soldier receives their Christmas gifts on time.
Take the Easy Way Out… Order Online
Shopping online with retailers who ship to military address make sending your holiday gifts to the troops much easier. Companies such as Arttowngifts.com offer a gift care package line of gifts packaged specifically for shipping overseas to soldiers. Since most soldiers do not have a lot of room for clutter, Care Package gifts come in disposable boxes and features cookies, snacks, playing cards and similar items. If your military family lives in a more “home like” setting then consider other gifts such as personalized gifts or a family name sign. Sites such as Arttowngifts.com also offer patriotic and military themed gifts which feature items such flag adorned phone cases, flag cufflinks, bears dressed as each branch of the military and many more.
Online Retailer, Joseph Few of Arttowngifts.com says,
“Many of the larger retailers do not ship to military addresses because the shippers have to complete extra paper work and take the package to the post office which interrupts their normal flow of operations. They also find that customers need extra help with addresses and gift selections. At Arttowngifts our staff wanted to support the troops by making this service available.”
There are some alternatives such as ShipitAPO or APO Box. Using these services, you can place an order with any online company and send the order to their location and they will reship to the soldier for a handling fee plus the additional shipping charges.
Follow these few simple rules to make sure your soldier receives their package before Christmas. Diminish the stress of being away from your loved ones during the holidays by sending your overseas gifts now to share some holiday cheer with your hero soldiers. Anyone who has ever been away from home for a long period of time can relate to the excitement and joy of receiving a gift from home. Just imagine how great your soldier will feel as they open their Christmas gifts this holiday. These gifts from loved ones are sure to brighten their holiday.
Find Personalized Gifts and Signs at Arttowngifts.com
Thea Few is a retired publisher and consultant. Her son Joseph Few owns Arttowngifts.com and other businesses. This post was originally published on Arttowngifts’ Medium.
