WASHINGTON, DC — As Americans pay tribute to those who have served their country today, the U.S. Postal Service is asking friends and families to remember mailing dates and shipping options for sending packages, cards and letters to military members across the nation — or across the globe — for the upcoming holidays.

The Postal Service provides three different size and shape options at convenient flat-rate pricing, including the Large Priority Mail Flat Rate Box that provides a $2 discount for APO/FPO destinations.

At nearly 800 cubic inches and measuring 12" x 12" x 5 ½", the box is 50 percent larger than other USPS flat-rate boxes. The price to ship anything that fits in the box is just $10.95 to an APO/FPO destination, regardless of how much it weighs, up to 70 lbs. The price to other U.S. addresses is just $12.95.

The Postal Service has shipped nearly 3 million Large Priority Mail Flat Rate box between March and August 2008, including almost half a million ordered for military APO/FPO addresses. The new box is shipping an average of almost 476,000 per month.

“Flat-rate shipping is the best value in the marketplace,” said Gary Reblin, vice president of Expedited Shipping. “Our new, bigger box gives customers even more room to send items across the country, with one flat price, regardless of how much they weigh or how far they’re going.”

The current flat-rate boxes, introduced in November 2004, give customers a single, predetermined rate regardless of the weight or delivery zone. Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes usage (excluding the new large box) grew 36 percent from 2007 to 2008. Total shipped since launched as a test product in 2004 is more than 54 million. The new, larger box extends the Postal Service’s line of successful flat-rate offerings, providing more choices for small businesses and consumers.

Customers can order them at usps.com/supplies, by calling 800-610-8734, or by picking them up in Post Offices nationwide.

Some of the new boxes are co-branded with the logo of America Supports You, a Department of Defense program that connects citizens offering support to the military and their families.

All Postal Service Priority and Express Mail packages and envelopes are environmentally friendly, exceeding the highest standards for recyclability.

*20-pound weight limit

To ensure delivery of holiday cards and packages by Dec. 25 to military APO/FPO addresses overseas, the Postal Service recommends that mail for service members be entered no later than the mailing dates listed below.

Mail addressed to military post offices overseas is subject to certain conditions or restrictions regarding content, preparation and handling. APO/FPO addresses generally require customs forms. To see a table of active APO and FPO addresses and mailing restrictions by individual APO/FPO ZIP Codes, go to pe.usps.com and click “Postal Bulletins” in the left column. Select the current issue and look for the heading “Overseas Military Mail.”

1/ EMMS: Express Mail Military Service is available to selected military post offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine if this service is available to your APO/FPO of address.

2/ PAL: PAL is a service that provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis. It is available for Parcel 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 rate of postage for each addressed piece sent by PAL service.

3/ SAM: SAM parcels are paid at the Parcel Post postage rate 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.

For more information, customers may visit usps.com.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional on this issue, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 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 32,000 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 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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