Today's military family faces a lifestyle that is comprised of frequent deployments, which results in increased family separations. This often proves to be a stressful challenge fo...
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Mail is too expensive!!
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**Sorry this is long-- it's important!**
I'm new here-- hello to everyone (o: I will be going through my first (his second) deployment starting at the end of this year. Needless to say I am ridiculous scared. As I'm sure everyone else has felt, I don't want him to leave. It's hard enough to be across the country from each other! I know that we can both make it, but it tears me apart already. He tells me not to think about it now, so I'm trying not to... Anyway, on the the point of this post. I am "sponsoring" a troop right now, as well. Basically, the costs for mail (all, but especially international) are ridiculous. Regular letters are around one dollar, and that price goes up quickly depending on the weight. You can get the flat rate boxes for $9-11 each I believe. These prices may not seem like a big deal, but if you send mail like I do, it's outrageous. Say you send a letter once a week (I'm doing every day) during a year deployment... that's over $50 right there. And then maybe a package every other month or so... that's easily another $50 (not to mention the cost of whatever you're sending). I'm sorry, but I'm not crazy about the idea of paying hundreds just to stay in contact with, and take as good of care of my boy as possible. I will, of course, because it's endlessly important to me (and him), but I feel like I have to take out a second job!! I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this way, but just bitching isn't going to get any of us anywhere. I've decided to do all I can to see if I can possibly do something about it-- who knows, it's worth a try, right? Most of our soldiers aren't real crazy about being over there, and I think that our government owes it to the nation's finest to make them as comfortable as possible. Let's face it, who deserves to be treated better than the bravest, most selfless men and women in our country...? I'm trying to gather as much legitimate information as possible, as well as just gain general support. I plan on writing to my congressman and senators (however, Obama is one of them, and I think that he's going to worthless as far as getting a response at this point...). If possible, I would like to find out the actual cost of sending mail overseas. I know what they charge, but how much of that is pure profit? Ideally, I would like to propose that mail sent to troops should be free. For goodness sake, the government spends enough on lord knows what else, I think they could foot the costs of this valuable service. Any other information that you might find pertainent would be awesome. Thanks so much for reading this. Hang in there. Posted on 06/12/08, 03:06 pm |
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Well, I live in Germany, so I have an APO also. Fortunately, sending packages from APO to APO is free. I THOUGHT (not sure) that mailing to an APO cost the same as mailing in the States. I could be wrong, so anyone please correct me if I am. 
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You could be right. That's what I'm looking for. I don't really understand the whole APO thing. I'm new at this (o:
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This is my understanding about the APO. You basically pay to ship it to New York. Now this is where I could be wrong, but I don't think I am...After you pay to ship it to NY, the gov/mil whatever pays to ship it overseas.
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Yes, when you ship APO it is the United States postal service you are mailing it to, just like you would mail it to another post here in the states. How many letters do you mail out? See about "bulk" mailing. When companies send out mass post cards etc, they get the mailing cheaper, of course I don't know about the amount of mail needing to be sent.
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Most of our soldiers aren't real crazy about being over there, and I think that our government owes it to the nation's finest to make them as comfortable as possible. Let's face it, who deserves to be treated better than the bravest, most selfless men and women in our country...?
uhhhh....everyone who volunteered for duty knows what they can possibly face. Is the government supposed to make them more comfortable by providing a pool, a hot tub--what else do you propose? Unfortunately, during the time of war, these are the conditions that they are subjected to. If you want to support and give a morale boost to your boyfriend, send the letters and the packages and dont complain about the cost. Over the many years DH has been in I have no clue how much I have spent on packages--it's not really at the top of my list to remember. As far as providing this as a free service, who should be paying for this? The tax dollars are all spread pretty thin right now and I don't see how, or why for that matter, why the postal service should provide a free service. I see that you are a little young and new to this, all I can offer you is the advice of sending as much as you want as often as you want, every letter and package is a big morale boost to the servicemembers who are away from home. Try not to put a price tag on things.Also, you can use email--sporadic as it can be--and it's free. Good luck.
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I agree with Maggie. This is a nominal amount to pay, considering the good you're doing. Plus, with the increased pay in Hazard, separation, and the like--I'm sure you can afford a few extra bucks.
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I am new to this also, but I wanted to point out that Firedancer never said it wasn't worth paying... but if cutting the price means we can send more letters, more packages, more support... why wouldn't you be in support of that? I personally am in college and money is beyond tight. And when he leaves, I will be sending my marine things on a regular basis, but the reality is that I probably won't be able to spend an extra $100/month on postage. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, but an alternative to help us lend our support could only be a good thing.
And Maggieloop--if they could provide hot tubs and swimming pools for our military, I would be totally on board. They know what they are signing up for--to be a part of something bigger than themselves--but any and every convenience for them should be provided if possible.
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Shipping packages to people deployed is free at my base, they even supply the boxes and everything. Ask your post office on base about it, I believe there is a program setup for that purpose
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Yes it is expensive but it really doesn't matter. Do what you can. Being positive and supportive is of great importance. My son was just recently deployed 12-15 month tour he "VOLUNTEERED" to go serve his country! One of the issues that make it difficult for these guys is being "Home Sick" so I think whatever you send them will make them happy. Cut down on the number of letters you send. Also, I have to disagree with you when you said most of our soldiers aren't crazy about being over there, I do not believe that to be so, but I'm not going to get into a long story about it. They are doing great things there regardless of all the negative crap that is told on the tv, thats why I won't watch the news. God bless your soldier and thank him for his service they are all HEREOS!
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A lot of us are strapped for cash, so you can't use the excuse of "I'm in school" and blah blah blah. We have one income, mortgage, car payment and 3 children so as you can see, we don't have a lot of spare cash laying around either, but if you need to do without a latte or a manicure then you do without. If sending the package is going to break the bank that much, get creative.
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