What you need to know to send a Military Care Package

Whether in basic training and away from home for the first time or a seasoned career service member, every military service man and woman looks forward to mail call; a package from friends and family is especially welcome. Remember the homesickness as a kid at summer camp? Being away from home is hard some times, being away from home for an extended period of time is a way of life for men and women serving in the Armed Forces. Being deployed overseas, means being not only away from friends and family but also away from many of the familiar personal care products and comfort foods.

Holidays are also central to many people's lives. When one comes from a tight knit family, a family who spends every holiday from Christmas to Groundhogs day together, being away can be especially hard. By being away from home means missing weddings, birthdays, holidays, "Must See Tv," first days of school, and many many other events, which those of us at home sometimes take for granted. Many of these events can be captured in photos and video and with the Internet, sometimes even in real time. With IM, email, internet phone, cell phones and satellite phones have made it easier to stay in touch but being away is still hard.

A care package, a holiday package or a just because package can do much to make the service member feel more connected. Notes and love letters are a great way to stay in touch also. There is something about a hand written note which is so heartwarming. Children can stay in touch by writing letters or drawing pictures. It is a way for them to stay in touch and who does not love getting scenes of kids in the park or stick figures dancing amidst snowflakes and hearts.

Military Care packages loaded with favored treats and goodies can be a great way shower those away with love and appreciation for their sacrifice. Sticking in a little bit extra to share also allows the receipt to treat their bunk mates and friends to a taste of back home. While it may be tempting to bake and send a favor homemade treat, in the case of care packages it is better to send non perishables and smaller travel size personal care items, which travel better and are easier to store.

Care packages for the troops come in various shapes and sizes but the most important component is caring enough to remember their sacrifice and dedication to making the world a better place.

Shipping items to men and women serving in the US Armed Forces and other overseas personnel utilizing the Military Post Office (MPO) can be a complicated adventure. In many cases there are weight and size limits as well as package contents limits. In many cases these limits vary by MPO zip code.

Items being sent overseas to a APO/FPO address may only be sent via the United States Postal Service and must be hand delivered to the post office for acceptance. It is important also, to send all parcels via United States priority mail to ensure prompt delivery.

In many cases the shipper will need to be prepared to complete a series of specialized customs forms. When in doubt contacting the United States Postal Service or the Military Post Office is the way to go. Many merchants shy away from offering delivery to APO/FPO addresses because of the additional worked required.

There are many merchants who have invested the time and energy into learning the rules and regulations of shipping to military personal serving overseas and stateside. If a merchant does not specifically say that they will ship to APO/FPO addresses it is a safe bet that they will not. When shopping online, look for merchants who proudly advertise that they WILL ship to APO/FPO address - that way YOU know they have invested the time and energy into learning the ins and outs of the APO/FPO system and that they are willing to do their part to serve those men and women, WHO are dedicated to serving their country!

Things NOT to send

• Illegal copies of anything. Period.

• Flea Collars.

• Home-cooked anything. Note: Due to concerns for the health and safety of the Soldiers, and as much as we don't want to say this, please do not send home-cooked anything to Soldiers other then to your relatives or people who know you. Factory packaged only. Sorry. The Soldiers are told to throw away anything that is not in a factory package.

• LARGE SHIPMENTS Especially during the holidays. Send SMALL boxes (say under 10 pounds) and no more than 3 to any single address in the same day. Don't be part of the log jam, be part of the solution.

Tips and Hints

• What you may not be aware of the fact that movies are being stolen off the bases and sold back to the soldiers. I strongly suggest that if you send any CDs or DVDs, use a permanent magic marker and simply put [FOR NAME] on both the cover and CD/DVD. This way, it will deter anyone from trying to steal and resell them.

• If you decide to send a package to a random solder and your package is intended for a woman, be sure to address the package, "Attn: Any Female Soldier".

• T-Shirts must be Brown for Army (Tan for the new digital uniform, the 'ACU') and Navy, Green for Marines, Sand for Air Force. If the troops ask for t-shirts but don't specify the color, write to them before you send any and ask them.

• Marine boot socks are black. White athletic socks for PT and sometimes under the boot socks. Scarves are not authorized unless issued, but this is normally 'command discretion'. Beanie caps are not issued but are often worn under a helmet at night, must be dark color.

• The Air Force in deployed locations no longer wears BDUs. It is now the ABUs with Sand color T-shirts (Much like the Army) And the socks are the dark green socks the Army uses. We still use the DCUs also for a few more months/years from now. We are still authorized BDUs out of the AOR tho. (Info from SrA Sterne, thanks!!)

• ALL items which contain liquids and pastes (even in cans), put in a zip-lock bag, and a second one up-side-down from the first one. If an item can leak, it will.

School is starting soon. Many classes begin their day reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. For many younger students and even older ones alike, it is challenging to come to terms with exactly what those words mean. For many men and women overseas, serving in the US Armed Forces those words are a way of life. These service men and women are either fighting for those beliefs, working to show others those beliefs in practice, or training to be ready to defend those beliefs at a moments notice.

One way to combine the ideology of the words and the practice is to have the class embark on a service project, one which combines patriotism with practical activities. Adopting a soldier or a group of soldiers is a great way to get the children involved and to provide the service member with a little bit of cheer from home. The children could take turns writing weekly letters or drawing a series of pictures. Around the various holidays through out the year, they could prepare gifts or care packages.

Older classes could fund raise and then purchase a prepared gift basket or care package. If the school is near a base, older students could contact the base and research the rules for sending packages and other items overseas. If a student in the class has a family member overseas, that student could perhaps involve their loved one or ones in a dialogue about what it means to be overseas serving in the Armed Forces or even ask the family members left behind what it means to have a loved one overseas.

There are a number of organizations which will match up military service members with groups seeking to "adopt" a service man or woman. In some case these organizations have a process in place for gift giving and letter writing and other are more free form, allowing the donor to decide up on the level of contact. A web search is a great starting point.

Child can learn much by reading about history and current events, they learn more when they are part of the process.