USPS Helps Support the Troops

Buried deep within the US Postal Service web site, found only in a popup, the USPS is "supporting" our troops. Why this isn't a ten-foot-tall banner hanging in every branch office I don't know. Doesn't Uncle Sam still hang out in the Post Office?

Now use Click-N-Ship® to ship to U.S. military addresses around the world. Just choose "United States" from the country menu and pick the appropriate military designation from the state menu. You'll see the mailing restrictions and customs forms requirements for your package's destination. Postage is at the domestic rate and Delivery Confirmation™ is free with Priority Mail®.

After printing the label, you can complete the required customs forms online, too. (Plastic envelopes are required for the customs forms and can be ordered online through The Postal Store®.)

Use our Military Addressing Tips and FAQs to make sure your packages reach our troops.

I'm not sure I quite agree with their addressing tips, though.

Last I heard, you do not include rank on a package, since anyone the package passes in its worldwide travels then has the name, rank and location (APOs are easy to "translate") of an active-duty soldier. But otherwise, the USPS FAQ on what to send, what not to send, and how to send it seems to answer a lot of good questions with reasonable answers.

So now that the rates are lower for overseas shipping, get baking and send some good stuff to the sandbox!