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Care Packages for Coalition Troops
Audience: Everyone
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A fellow Tourbus rider in stationed Iraq sent me the following email
earlier this week:

     If you could pass on to your readers that if they know somebody
     over here, they would enjoy receiving a care package of treats or
     a letter.  It is great receiving something in the mail from home
     and friends.

The key words are "know somebody."  Because of security concerns, the
military mail service is no longer accepting packages addressed to
"any soldier" or "any service member."  Some well-intentioned people
have tried to bypass this new restriction by sending large quantities
of packages to a single, known service member, but the Defense
Logistics Agency Defense Distribution Center cautions against doing
this because it "clogs the mail system and causes unnecessary delays."

So, how can you support our troops in Iraq and other countries without
clogging up the military mail system?  Simple!  Find a service member
in your community who recently deployed -- chances are someone from
your work, church, or school is currently stationed overseas -- and
then contact that service member's family to ask if there is anything
you can do for them.

For example, offer to buy the family some supplies to be included in
their next care package.  Newsweek ran an brief article earlier this
week talking about some of the more popular items among the soldiers
in Iraq:

     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5359303/site/newsweek/

Most military families already know this next part, but before you
ship ANYTHING to our troops make sure to double-check the US Postal
Service's most recent list of restrictions on overseas military mail.
You can find the list buried inside the latest Postal Bulletin at

     http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm

The Postal Bulletin is updated every three or four weeks.  Just look
for "Overseas Military Mail" in the Bulletin's index.

What if you don't know a service member but still want to show your
support?  Not to worry.  The US Department of Defense has a huge
"Support Our Troops" page at

     http://www.defendamerica.mil/support_troops.html

that has links to dozens of support agencies that sponsor programs for
members of the armed forces overseas.  Better still, check out the
Army and Air Force Exchange Service's "Gifts from the Homefront" page
at

     http://www.aafes.com/docs/homefront.htm

This page lets you purchase gift certificates that the troops can use
in any military exchange retail store.  You can send the gift
certificates to someone you know or you can donate it to an
organization like the American Red Cross or USO who will distribute
your gift certificate to a random service member.

I hope this helps.

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