OT: Deadline Nears to Send Packages to Deployed Soldiers

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Military.com Newsletter

 

By Sergeant First Class Marcia Triggs

November 14, 2003

 

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, November 14, 2003) – Christmas is a month

away, but individuals only have half that time to get their packages to

deployed troops in time for the holidays.

 

The deadline to get packages to the Central Command area in time for

Christmas is Dec. 4 by First Class or Priority Mail, according to the

United States Postal Service.

 

The key to getting packages to deployed troops on time is not only

meeting the deadline, officials said, but also making sure everything is

spelled correctly, to include the recipient’s full name, unit and

address.

 

The best packages to mail are smaller ones, the size of a large shoebox,

that weigh one to 20 pounds, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Lomax, the chief

of Plans and Policy with the Military Postal Service Agency. Other rules

to remember is that troops serving in operations Enduring Freedom and

Iraqi Freedom cannot receive pork products, alcohol beverages,

pornographic material or religious items against the Islamic faith,

Lomax said.

 

The Department of Defense urges the general public not to send

unsolicited mail, care packages or donations to service members deployed

unless they are a family member, loved one or personal friend of a

troop.

 

There are some well-intentioned and patriotic groups who are trying to

continue to support some form of the anonymous mail programs “Any

Servicemember” and “Operation Dear Abbey,” but their actions could pose

potential danger to the troops they wish to support, states the DoD’s

troop support mail policy.

 

After the 9-11 anthrax attacks in October 2001, the “Any Servicemember”

mail programs were suspended. However, several installations have

received donations, and are passing the public’s gratitude on to troops

by sending packages through official military mail.

 

An Army Reserve chaplain has mailed 300 donated packages to Iraq for

Soldiers in the 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, and plans to

keep forwarding them as long as donations come in.

 

Lt. Col. DeWayne Brewer, the 4th Inf. Div. Rear Detachment chaplain,

heads Operation Peace and Joy, a program that gives the public an

opportunity to show their kindness toward service members while still

protecting the privacy of Soldiers.

 

“I kept getting inquiries from people in the community on how they could

send items to Soldiers. So I e-mailed a two-page letter to a few people

explaining that we are prohibited from giving out individual Soldier

names and addresses due to privacy reasons, but they could send

donations to my office” said Brewer, a Kentucky native.

 

“Now I’m overwhelmed with the gifts that I’ve received. We go through

the contents as a safety precaution, and my office has turned into a

mailroom,” Brewer said. “This out pour reminds me of when Jesus fed

multitudes with only fives loaves of bread and two fish.”

 

Donations have poured into Texas from as far away as Washington and

Maine. Brewer sends the boxes, which contain enough gifts for two

people, to chaplains in Iraq, who then distribute the gifts to their

troops.

 

At Fort Carson, Colo., the Directorate of Community Activities is

accepting donations from outside of the post’s gates, but it doesn’t

take on the responsibility of mailing the packages.

 

“When we get in donations, we call units and ask if they want to accept

them, then they come pick up the items and distribute how they see fit,”

said an official from Fort Carson’s DCA.

 

Gifts worth more than $200,000 have been provided by the surrounding

communities, said Netty Eastlake, the DCA deputy.

 

“It just touches my heart everyday to see the unsolicited support our

Soldiers are receiving,” Eastlake said. “One company donated 100,000

Christmas cards so that Soldiers could send something back to their

family members.”

 

“I know that it frustrates some who can’t directly mail packages to

Soldiers, but the military is providing wonderful support to take care

of its own,” Brewer said. “My idea wasn’t original. I piggybacked off

another chaplain who was doing something similar in his unit.”

 

Lomax also recommends that people look for local organizations that

support the family members of deployed troops.

 

“I remember when I spent several months away, I worried about my wife

finding time for herself because we have three small children,” Lomax

said. “It would have been a great relief knowing that she had someone

who would watch the kids while she had an opportunity to go shopping or

get her hair done.

 

“It would be a gift to rake a family member’s leaves, shovel her snow or

volunteer to help maintain her yard.”

 

There are also several other programs to help people support and

acknowledge service embers and their families. Log on to the following

Web sites to show support, to include virtual thank-you cards and

calling card donations to help troops stay in contact with loved ones:

 

http://www.defendamerica.mil/support_troops.html

 

http://www.usocares.org/home.htm

 

http://www.army.mil/operations/iraq/faq.html