Mailing someone in the military
We’ve been reading up on mailing someone in the miliary, because my brother is in the Navy. The US Post Office actually recently came out with flat rate boxes just for shipping to an APO/FPO box. So here’s the scoop, in case you were wondering.
You can mail anyone in the US military servie for the same price as mailing to that person if they were here in the US. Miltary mail is processed through large post office boxes, so to speak. APO stands for Air/Army Post Office and FPO stands for Fleet Post Office. Military locations are assigned a unique zip code, no matter where in the world they are located. Mail going to an APO or FPO address usually travels overseas via international commercial passenger services and international cargo services. When the planes land, the mail is handed over to a representative of the Military Postal Service, who in turn
transports it to another station where it is processed for delivery to the service member’s unit. Letters mailed to someone in the military typically take between seven and ten days to be delivered depending on country of destination. Priority Mail will take 10 to 15 days and Parcel Post will take about 24 days. Of course, all transit times vary depending on conditions of the unit the mail is going to. Every country has its own restrictions on
incoming mail, so check with your local Post Office if you’re not certain an item can be sent.
