TIFTON — Several holiday deadlines for shipping packages to soldiers and other service personnel overseas are coming soon.

The deadline to send letters or cards to troops for the holidays by first-class mail and priority mail through the United States Postal Service is Saturday, Dec. 10, for most Air/Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office ZIP codes. Troops who have the 093 ZIP Code have a deadline of Monday, Dec. 5, for cards and letters.

“We are asking families and supporters to mail and ship early this year to insure a happy holiday for our troops,” John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO of the U.S. Postal Service, said in a recent release.

The deadline for sending packages by Parcel Post is past, but friends and family members still have an opportunity to send packages through Space Available Mail, Parcel Airlift Mail or Express Mail Military Service.

SAM includes parcels that are paid at the Parcel Post rate that are sent by ground domestically and then overseas by air when space becomes available. The maximum weight and size limits are 15 pounds and 60 inches by length and girth combined. The deadline for SAM shipments is this Friday.

PAL is also a special service that ships on a space-available basis. Only Parcel Post items not exceeding 30 pounds and not exceeding 60 inches in length and girth combined are eligible for PAL. An additional PAL fee must be paid along with the regular surface rate for postage for each piece sent by PAL service. The deadline for PAL packages is Saturday, Dec. 3.

EMMS is available to select military post offices. Whether the service is available to a specific address can be determined by the local post office or by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS. The deadline for EMMS packages is Monday, Dec. 19.

“Even though we are busy here in the United States, we must not forget those who are overseas,” said Adele Kimbro, a sales and service distribution associate with the Tifton Post Office.

To help meet the demand for sending overseas, the Postal Service has created a special “kit” that contains the necessary mailing materials to send care packages to the troops. The kit contains 10 Priority Mail boxes, five “Mili-Pacs,” one roll of Priority Mail tape and 10 customs forms with envelopes. The kits are free of charge and can be ordered by calling 1-800-610-8734.

Mili-Pacs were developed by the Military Postal Service and are Tyvek envelopes with Old Glory on one side. They include detailed addressing information, and the Postal Service encourages that the Mili-Pac process is followed for all mail destined for units overseas. The address block of the Mili-Pac allows for the service member’s full name, rank or rating, military organization or unit and APO/FPO with nine-digit ZIP code.

All packages and mail must be addressed to individual service members in accordance with regulations by the U.S. Department of Defense.



To contact reporter Dusty Vassey, call 382-4321, ext. 208.