US Rep Klein to Mail Thousands of Holiday Cards From Local Students to Troops Serving in Iraq
Fort Lauderdale, Fl. — At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 30, Fort Lauderdale Postal Officials will welcome U.S. Representative Ron Klein to the Fort Lauderdale Post Office located at 1900 West Oakland Park Boulevard.
Klein will be mailing several thousands of cards created by local students participating in his “Holiday Hugs from Home” Program. On Friday, Klein will conduct a media briefing in the Post Office lobby where he and local veterans will showcase some of the cards. The cards then will be shipped via the U.S. Postal Service’s Priority Mail Flat Rate Box to Iraq.
The surge in military personnel sent to Iraq is contributing to an overall increase in overseas mail delivery by almost 200 percent, and average volume will quadruple during the peak holiday week.
The U.S. Postal Service is expecting to deliver 20 million pounds of mail to military installations around the world this holiday season. The second week of December should be the busiest week for overseas delivery. Mail to Iraq alone during this period is expected to increase more than 400 percent over the average weekly volume.
All military units are assigned an APO or FPO ZIP Code and, in many cases, that ZIP Code travels with the unit. The U.S. Postal Service places APO/FPO mail on special charter flights, commercial airlines and military aircraft to reach armed services members overseas as quickly as possible.
The U.S. Postal Service has created a special mailing and shipping kit designed specifically for military families sending packages overseas. Each of these CARE KITs contains two Priority Mail boxes, six Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes, eight Priority Mail labels, one roll of Priority Mail tape and eight customs forms with envelopes. Flat Rate Boxes are a special value. Customers pay only $8.95, regardless of the weight or destination of the package. Call 1-800-610-8734 and ask for the CARE KIT.
Postal employees are reminding friends and families to send holiday mail destined to troops stationed overseas as early as possible. To help ensure delivery of holiday cards and packages by December 25 to military APO/FPO addresses overseas and to international addresses, the following mailing dates are recommended:
| Military Mail Addressed To | Express Mail® Military Service (EMMS)1/ |
First-Class Mail® Letters/Cards |
Priority Mail® |
Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) 2/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 090-092 |
Dec 18 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 4 |
APO/FPO AE ZIP 093 |
N/A |
Dec 4 |
Dec 4 |
Dec 1 |
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 094-098 |
Dec 18 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 4 |
APO/FPO AA ZIPs 340 |
Dec 18 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 4 |
APO/FPO AP ZIPs 962-966 |
Dec 18 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 11 |
Dec 4 |
1/ EMMS: Express Mail Military Service is available to selected Military Post Offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine if this service is available to your APO/FPO of address.
2/ PAL: PAL is a service that provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis. It is available for Parcel Post items not exceeding 30 pounds in weight or 60 inches in length and girth combined. The applicable PAL fee must be paid in addition to the regular surface rate of postage for each addressed piece sent by PAL service.
3/ SAM: SAM parcels are paid at Parcel Post postage rate of postage with maximum weight and size limits of 15 pounds and 60 inches in length and girth combined. SAM parcels are first transported domestically by surface and then to overseas destinations by air on a space-available basis.
An audio news release featuring a quote from Pentagon spokesman Lt. Bashon Mann is available in the newsroom at usps.com/news.
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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.