Holiday Mail Surge for Deployed Troops
By: LTC C. L. Morelle-Oliveira
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – The 1st Theater Sustainment Command wants to ensure troops get their mail promptly this holiday season.
“We want to make sure we do everything we can to support our great warriors by insuring their holiday mail arrives in a timely fashion,” said Deputy Commanding General, Brig. Gen. Nick Tooliatos, 1TSC. “We are closely monitoring the flow of mail to ensure adequate transportation is allocated to keep the mail moving. We have initiated ‘Operation Santa’s Little Helpers’ to augment postal personnel into Afghanistan to assist with the upcoming rush of holiday mail.”
For families and friends at home, it’s critical to understand the natural “surge” that occurs during the holidays and plan ahead. Deadlines are fast approaching if you want to ensure your Soldier gets that Christmas package on time.
“Sending mail from the US to theater or the Soldier is quite easy,” said First Lt. Jennifer Yurk, postal operations officer- Afghanistan, 3rd Human Resource Sustainment Center, Kuwait. “Family members or friends need to package the box (the most common way to do this is with flat rate boxes – which means no matter what the weight of the package the cost is a flat rate, take it into their local Post Office.
Fill out a customs declaration form and take it to the counter to be processed.
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The Postal Service offers free Military Care Kits, designed specifically for military families sending packages overseas. The mailing kits can be ordered by phone by calling 1-800-610-8734 and asking for the Military Care Kit. Each kit includes two “America Supports You” large Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes, four medium-sized Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes, six Priority Mail labels, one roll of Priority Mail tape and six customs forms with envelopes.
Deadline information is available through your military post office and at USPS.COM.
Deployed personnel should contact MailQuestions@kuwait.swa.army.mil for assistance.