WASHINGTON — Making sure those serving in the nation’s armed forces receive their presents and care packages in time for the holidays is a priority for friends and family members of military personnel serving around the world and for the U.S. Postal Service. Helping to get packages on their way, the Postal Service offers a discount on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate box at $14.85. The price includes a $2 per box discount for military mail being sent to APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office, Diplomatic Post Office) destinations worldwide. 

In addition to a lower cost per package, customers can be assured that shipping with the Postal Service provides reliable, trusted and secure delivery to military personnel stationed anywhere in the world.

Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes are available at no cost at local Post Offices, or can be ordered online at shop.usps.com. Postage, labels and customs forms can be printed online anytime using Click-N-Ship.

To ensure timely delivery of holiday wishes by Dec. 25, send cards and packages to military APO/FPO/ DPO addresses overseas no later than the mailing dates listed below.

1 PMEMS is available to selected military /diplomatic post offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine if this service is available to an APO/FPO/DPO address.

2 PAL is a service that provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis. PAL is available for Standard 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 price for each addressed piece sent by PAL service.

3 SAM parcels are paid at Standard Post prices with maximum weight and size limits of 15 pounds 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.

Use the Military Care Kit to Send Presents and/or Care Packages
With Priority Mail supplies as the packaging of choice for families preparing care packages for service members overseas, the Postal Service created a free “Military Care Kit” based on the items most frequently requested by military families.

The kit contains:

• Two Priority Mail APO/FPO Flat Rate Boxes.
• Two Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes.
• Priority Mail tape.
• Priority Mail address labels.
• Appropriate customs forms.

To order the kit, call 800-610-8734. Guidelines for packing, addressing, and shipping items to U.S. troops can be found at usps.com/ship/apo-fpo-guidelines.htm. To order flat-rate boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo, go to store.usps.com.

Addressing the Package

1. Write out the service members full name in the address.
2. Include the unit and APO/FPO/DPO address with the 9-digit ZIP Code (if one is assigned).
   For example:
   • CPT JOHN DOE
     UNIT 2050 BOX 4190
     APO AP 96278-2050
   
   
   • SGT ROBERT SMITH
     PSC 802 BOX 74
     APO AE 09499-0074
   
   
   • SEAMAN JOSEPH SMITH
     USCGC HAMILTON
     FPO AP 96667-3931
   
   
   • MSG JANE DOE
     CMR 1250
     APO AA 09045-1000


3. Include a return address.

The Postal Service receives no tax 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: 152 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With more than 31,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private-sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 42nd in the 2012 Fortune 500. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for seven years and the fourth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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