Have you ever sent a package to a soldier?

[seasheller]

I recently sent packages to a soldier in Afghanistan and one in Japan. Both friends of the family. When filling out the customs form I checked the box that says if undeliverable "give to any soldier", rather than having it returned to me, or the branch of service trying to track down the soldier it was addressed to. Neither of these young men have changed their address in the past few months, but it seems neither of them have received their packages. Has anyone else ever had a problem with this? My DH is a skeptic anyway, but he thinks the military would not try very hard to find the right soldier.

 

[JaymeC]

How long ago did you send the packages and how did you send them? We lived in Okinawa for 3 years and my husband has done a tour in Iraq. We've never not received our mail... though a few times it took awhile. Once it took 8 weeks for a package that was sent by ground to arrive because if it's sent by ground then they put it on a boat instead of a plane. If it's sent by air (priority) then it usually took about 10 daysish to get to us in Oki. A little longer in Iraq.

Having said that, the military is surprisingly good about trying to get mail to it's recipients. We actually had a package we thought was lost follow us through two different duty stations before finally landing at our now civilian address They went to such great lengths for that tshirt! Not to mention a couple that the zip code was mis-wrote on that wandered through Europe before finding us in Japan.

So I guess my prime advice is patience patience patience. And never try to send Christmas packages unless you're sending them in October!

 

[MaggieBailey]

I recently sent packages to a soldier in Afghanistan and one in Japan. Both friends of the family. When filling out the customs form I checked the box that says if undeliverable "give to any soldier", rather than having it returned to me, or the branch of service trying to track down the soldier it was addressed to. Neither of these young men have changed their address in the past few months, but it seems neither of them have received their packages. Has anyone else ever had a problem with this? My DH is a skeptic anyway, but he thinks the military would not try very hard to find the right soldier.

My DH was in the Marines, and stationed in Iraq for 14 months and he always got what I sent him.... Same with 2 good friends and now, my DFIL. How long has it been since you sent them? It can take several weeks.... That's what they say - but it usually doesn't take that long. To be honest, I didn't even know that box was an option on the customs form! Was it addressed exactly as the address was given to you? My husband mailed 2 boxes from Iraq home full of books he bought over there, and we only ever got 1! It has been 2 years and other box is.... Somewhere.... Praise the Lord his footlocker made it back to me okay though, lol. Good luck, hoping that your packages were just rerouted and will end up where they need to be soon!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

When my husband was in Iraq I sent him lots of boxes (like one a week). He always got them, but sometimes took awhile because he was in a remote location and mail service was spotty, plus they had to go from their very-remote location to the nearest US base to pick it up every week. They really do try, though. While he was there, his civilian bosses (he's a Reservist) sent him an X-box 360 and TV for Christmas and tried to send it Fed-Ex (yeah, right). He wound up having to go to some other remote base to pick them up, but they held the packages for him and he did get them!

 

[bpesch]

I had a friend who was in Iraq for 6 months. I sent her packages at least once a week and never had a single one go missing.

 

[dislal]

I just sent 2 packages over to a friend, and he received them both within a week of me mailing them. BTW, he is in Afghanistan.

 

[thewebbs5]

I recently sent packages to a soldier in Afghanistan and one in Japan. Both friends of the family. When filling out the customs form I checked the box that says if undeliverable "give to any soldier", rather than having it returned to me, or the branch of service trying to track down the soldier it was addressed to. Neither of these young men have changed their address in the past few months, but it seems neither of them have received their packages. Has anyone else ever had a problem with this? My DH is a skeptic anyway, but he thinks the military would not try very hard to find the right soldier.

my son in law is there now. We have sent several packages and he usually has them within 2 weeks. the longest has taken 3 weeks but they only get mail on Fridays so it's all in the timing but so far he has received them all.

 

[MNTwinsMom]

Although this is a little off topic, I try to never miss an opportunity to say thanks to the men and women serving our country, so . . .

Thank You to your friends and family members in the service and to you as well for the sacrifices you've made. From my family to yours, it is greatly appreciated!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I have a friend and her husband that are stationed in Okinawa and I sent her an envelope and I think it took about a week and a half to get to her. She has mentioned that someone sent her a box and it took several weeks to get to her.

 

[seasheller]

Thank you all for the input. Both packages were mailed July 13th, and I did double check the addresses. Basically, I wondered if I made a mistake checking the "any soldier" box. Maybe both boys will still get them, but I know they usually receive things in a very short time. Thank you!!

 

[Pooh2]

We have sent many packages to our friend (including a laptop) in Aghanistan and never had a problem. They usually arrive within a week.

I have only been asked once about whether I wanted the package returned if undeliverable. It was at a different post office than I usually use. I checked the box to give it to the chaplain to pass on as it only had food and cds but our soldier got it without any problem.