Sending Mail During Deployment – Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

Do you know how exciting it is for your spouse to get care packages while he/she is deployed? It helps tremendously when it comes to being away from friends and loved ones. In this guide, I will tell you everything you need to know to get started! But before that, I want to bring up a few (but important) steps that you can do online beforehand to speed up the process at the post office, which at times can be rather time-consuming. 

ORDER FREE SHIPPING SUPPLIES

The first thing you can do is to order free shipping supplies. You can do this for free at the USPS website: Military Shipping Supplies

PRINT POSTAGE LABELS 

Go to: Print Postage Labels and follow the steps. For that you need to know the basics first:

What is a Military Address?

• APO stands for Army Post Office and is associated with Army or Air Force installations.
• FPO stands for Fleet Post Office and is associated with Navy installations and ships.
• DPO stands for Diplomatic Post Office and is associated with U.S. Diplomatic locations.

While carriers such as FedEx and UPS offer delivery to countries where military personnel may be stationed, the USPS is the only carrier that can deliver mail and packages to APO/FPO/DPO locations. Due to security restrictions, APOs, FPOs and DPOs cannot accept mail or packages from any other carrier, except the USPS.

HOW TO ADDRESS A SHIPPING LABEL FOR AN APO/FPO/DPO PACKAGE?

Sending a letter/package to APO/FPO/DPO can confuse you, but is exactly the same as sending it to a U.S. address. 

• Country: United States. 
• Enter the full name of the addressee. Sometimes mail must be addressed to an individual name or job title, such as ‘’Sergeant or Private First Class’’
• Street Address: enter the unit or Post Office box number:
  • Army: Unit (number) Box (number)
  • Air Force: Postal Service Center (number) Box (number)
  • Navy: Ship (number) Hull (number)
  • Embassy: Unit (number) Box (number)
• City: the city must be entered as either APO/FPO/DPO. Don’t put the name of the actual city.
• State: the State must be either “AA” “AE” or “AP.” Don’t put the name of the actual state or country.
  • AE is used for armed forces in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada.
  • AP is for the Pacific.
  • AA is the Americas, excluding Canada.
• Enter the zip code. Enter the 5-digit zip code for the military unit. It must start with a 0 or 9.

SHIPPING RESTRICTIONS

When shipping internationally, you must comply with USPS international shipping regulations. Basically, you cannot mail Aerosols, Air Bags, Alcoholic Beverages, Explosives, Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, Gasoline, and some items are restricted as Tobacco.  Here you can read more about it International Shipping Prohibitions & Restrictions. 

TRACKING YOUR PACKAGE 

USPS tracking doesn’t extend outside of the military mail system, it will never show “delivered”. They stop tracking the package and the military delivers it to the service member. If your tracking information ends in CHICAGO it means it is safely in the military’s hands. The best way to find out if your spouse got the package is to reach out to him/her directly. Remember, it can take up to 45 days, but not always, deployment schedules can vary. 

I hope you find this information useful, and if you want to know more about this, you can always watch my video tutorial on Instagram @hellodeployment!

MEET VANESSA