Bulk mailings choking military postal system, officials say

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Well-meaning Americans are clogging up the military postal system by sending many letters and packages to individuals for redistribution, the Defense Department says.

Lt. Cmdr. Brian Lomax said the department is urging people to send material to service members they know, but not to send large volumes for them to give to other people.

Programs that allowed people to send mail addressed to "any service member" were suspended after Sept. 11 and the anthrax attacks. But people have been circumventing that ban by obtaining the names of individual service members and sending them dozens of items to hand off to others.

That clogs up the mail system and delays delivery of materials to other service members, said Lomax, a spokesman for the Pentagon's military mail program.

The Defense Department urged people to support service members by helping their families at home, through local programs; by visiting the Defense Department's "Support Our Troops" Web page or the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Operation Uplink site; or by calling the Military Postal Service Agency's toll-free number, (800) 810-6098 to ask about other programs.

The military mail system receives materials from the U.S. Postal Service for delivery to service members. Recommended mailing dates for holiday delivery — mail five days earlier for Hanukkah delivery — are:

• APO/FPO ZIP codes 090-092: Letters, cards and Priority mail, Dec. 11; Parcel Airlift Mail, Dec. 4; space available mail, Nov. 28.
• APO/FPO ZIP 093: Letters, cards and Priority mail, Dec. 4; parcel airlift mail, Nov. 26.
• APO/FPO ZIPs 094-099, 340 and 962-966: Letters, cards and Priority mail, Dec. 11; Parcel Airlift mail, Dec. 4; space available mail, Nov. 28.

The Defense Department urged that mailers use the service member's full name, with or without rank or rating; unit; APO/FPO address, with the nine-digit ZIP code if one is assigned; and a return address. For packages, place addresses on one side only.

Certain mail is prohibited in Middle Eastern countries, including obscene articles; pork or pork byproducts; any matter depicting nude or seminude persons; pornographic or sexual items; or nonauthorized political materials.

Officials urge senders to wrap parcels securely in cushioned, strong boxes, include an address card inside that lists the contents and remember that it gets hot in the desert.