ILLINOIS/WISCONSIN – Thousands of men and women in the nation’s diplomatic corps and in the military will be serving abroad during the holidays and the mail is a great way to stay connected with them by sending them cards, letters, presents and care packages for the festive season.

The Postal Service offers a reduced price of $17.40 on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate Box for mail sent to APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office) destinations worldwide — a $1.50 discount from the regular price.

Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes are available at no cost at local Post Offices and also can be ordered online. Postage, labels and customs forms also can be printed online anytime using Click-N-Ship. All mailing products can be found at store.usps.com/store/home.

To ensure timely holiday delivery by Dec. 25, the Postal Service recommends that cards and packages be sent to military APO/FPO/DPO addresses overseas no later than the mailing dates listed below.

Military Mail Addressed To and From	Priority Mail Express Military Service (PMEMS)1	First-Class Mail Letters and Cards	Priority Mail	Parcel Airlift     Mail (PAL)2
APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 090-092	Dec. 18	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4
APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIP   093	N/A	Dec. 4	Dec. 4	Dec. 4
APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 094-098	Dec. 18	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4
APO/FPO/DPO AA ZIP   340	Dec. 18	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4
APO/FPO/DPO AP ZIPs 962-966	Dec. 18	Dec. 11	Dec. 11	Dec. 4

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.

Free Military Boxes and Supplies
The Postal Service has created a free Military Care Kit based on the items most frequently requested by military families. The kit contains address labels, tape, boxes, and 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 store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/military-care-kit-P_MILITARYKIT. To order Flat-Rate Boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo, go to usps.com/freeboxes.

Postage, labels, and customs forms can be printed online anytime using Click-N-Ship at http://www.usps.com/ship.

While you are at usps.com, you can also print your shipping labels, pay for postage, and call for your letter carrier to pick up your Priority or Priority Express items at your home or business for free (where available.)

Mail Preparation Tips:

• Use good strong boxes and good strong packing tape. No duct tape or masking tape. No string or wire. No shoeboxes.
• Don’t use boxes from a liquor store. Boxes that indicate that there is alcohol inside cannot be mailed.
• Don’t ship anything with a lithium battery.
• Always include a return address on the parcel, and include destination/return address on a card inside the parcel (in case the address on the parcel is rendered unreadable).
• Never use Holiday wrapping paper around your parcel- it is very thin and isn’t suitable in the high speed sorting machines.

Package Address

• Write the service member’s full name
• Include the unit and APO/FPO/DPO address with the 9-digit ZIP Code (if one is assigned):  

Army/Air Post Office (APO)
PFC JANE DOE
PSC 3 BOX 4120
APO AE 09021

Fleet Post Office (FPO)
SEAMAN JOSEPH SMITH
UNIT 100100 BOX 4120
FPO AP 96691

Diplomatic Post Office (DPO)
MELANIE ADAMS
UNIT 8400 BOX 0000
DPO AE 09498-0048

• Do not write the country name where the service member is stationed in the address
• Include a return address
• Inside the box, include the service member’s name and address as well as the sender’s name    and address on an index card in case the shipping label gets damaged in transit

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

###