how would i piff to only troops over seas?
How would I do a PIF to troops over seas?
- Thread starter weldsbyshaky
- Start date
The easiest way I believe would be to simply state in your post that you wish to offer the PIF item/s to troops serving out of the country. You will probably have noticed plenty of Active Service badges amongst our membership and I'm sure that the guys would very much appreciate anything which was offered to them.
US troops over seas, have a APO/FPO address.
As far as I know the only exception is PMC contractors.
So if you wish to do a PIF for US troops over seas.
you could simply state that the person in question should have a APO/FPO address.
As far as I know the only exception is PMC contractors.
So if you wish to do a PIF for US troops over seas.
you could simply state that the person in question should have a APO/FPO address.
question is shipping to an APO/FPO considered like shipping conusa and is it easy to buy postage for? considering a PIF.
Shipping to an APO is pretty easy. Costs are on par with CONUS rates. You'll need to fill out a customs form, which can be filled out beforehand.
There is no difference between shipping to APO and shipping Conus, cost wise. When I was in Afghanistan any mail sent to me went to a sorting facility in New York, from there it went via military air or military contract air, so when someone sent something to me, they only had to pay the cost for the USPS to get the package to NY.
Shipping from one APO/FPO to another APO/FPO is free because it is only military air and not the USPS. If I ship from my conus military address to an APO I still have to pay for it.
Shipping to an APO/FPO only requires an additional customs firm to be filled out. It's easy. If you have any other PIF or military questions let me know.
Shipping from one APO/FPO to another APO/FPO is free because it is only military air and not the USPS. If I ship from my conus military address to an APO I still have to pay for it.
Shipping to an APO/FPO only requires an additional customs firm to be filled out. It's easy. If you have any other PIF or military questions let me know.
Not quite... Spent 3 years in Okinawa... The USPS has a system for sending mail to military members outside of the US -- OCONUS for the acronym fans -- Outside of the Continental US. Basically, instead of a city and state, there is APO/FPO and either AA/AE/AP. APO = Army Post Office (which mostly includes the USAF as well) and FPO = Fleet Post Office (Go Navy!) AA = Central/South America, AP = Pacific, AE = Europe/Africa/Middle East. There is also a zip code associated with it. When I was in Oki, if you did a search on the zip code, it showed a California location. I doubt this was the embark point for all packages, so I think it basically made it so that all shipping prices were calculated based on shipping to CA i.e. it didn't cost more to ship to my FPO AP address than it did to ship to California. For me to ship something to the US, costs were calculated based on the same zip code i.e. it was the same as being stationed in CA, just took longer. No free lunch in either direction. OTOH, if you are a congressman, I think you can still send mail without postage just by writing/stamping your name in place of the stamp...
WRT the original poster's question, you can no longer ship anonymous packages to military members overseas due to security concerns. Stopped in 2001. Holiday cards are an exception, but they are cards only, no envelopes, no enclosures. So, easiest option, as someone noted above, is to state that you have a PIF and limit it to someone with an APO or FPO address. Shipping will be no more than US shipping. FWIW, at least in Oki, the best option to get something to me in a timely manner was to send it USPS Priority Mail -- cost a bit more but arrived in "normal" mail time 1-2 weeks. Arrived via airmail. Regular mail came on a boat and took weeks to months. Overnight/Next day was pointless...
Another option would be to contact a base and get in contact with a deployed unit's HQ or a spouse's club and they would have mailing info for specific overseas military members or units and would be able to help with sending packages...
Hope this helps! Thanks for thinking of our deployed members. Overall, support from home, the Red Cross, etc. is pretty good, but it can still be a tough time of year...
Cheers!
PDM
You are correct in that going to PACOM AOR, your zip code will be in CA. For EUCOM, mine was NYC. The supporting unit will only ship official gov't business. If a member ships a care package on behalf of the unit, it is coming out of pocket. Additionally, there isn't a base/unit/post on the planet that will divulge a deployed members info upon request. That's an OPSEC nightmare not to mention the potential Privacy Act violations. This ishow this works: Start the Pif. Pick a winner. The winner will supply APO/FPO address. Go to the post office and mail it out. It will require a customs form and expect to pay CONUS postage rates. Member should receive the pif within 2-4 weeks.
Please do not contact a base/post's public affairs and/or unit asking for a deployed member. It will not work out positively.
It's different when you're in the circle, so to speak but different when an unaffiliated person starts asking around on the phone. They treat everyone as a potential threat these days and I would hate to see a B&B member's generosity be returned with a knock on the door by gov't.
I applaud your desire to serve our troops overseas!
