Base Mailing - Frequent Questons
Where do I send them?
Please adopt a base. See the Adoption Page.
Send them to your adopted overseas base. It costs the same to send them to the base that it does to send them to your next door neighbor. The bases are U.S. territory. If you send them to the OCP headquarters then OCP must find the same postage to re-send them to the base. That wastes your postage and effort. There are times when no one volunteers to donate the cost to forward coupons mis-sent to OCP.
Cheapest
The cheapest way to send your coupons is via "Parcel Post". Since this method takes much longer to travel to its destination, please make sure that you send coupons that are no more than one month expired on the date of shipping if you use Parcel Post. As of 2011 this method has become just a few cents cheaper than Priority Mail.
Fastest
A fast method of shipment is to use the Priority Mailer that the Post Office has. They have envelopes/boxes that allow you to place as much in them as you can for a fee.
Contact your local post office for the current prices per pound and best suggested methods of mailing. They will give you this information by phone.
Mail is Returned From the Base
We are not part of the military. This is a civilian run assistance charity. We do not always know about base closures or problems. Sometimes mail is simply mis-directed by the Post Office or mishandled at the base. You are our best resource. Please let us know about any problems that you have since we may not be aware of them. We will try to solve the riddle but it will take a while (month or more). Please remail your coupons to a different base if you think that is best. We work on that type of problem as time or necessity allows.
Customs Form Needed
The U.S.P.S. also requires Customs Form 2976-A be attached to the outside of the mailer when sending directly to a base overseas. Use the description "Manufacturer's Coupons" and record the value as "--$0.00--". Be sure to check the "Gift" box on the form and for them to return the coupons if there are problems if using Priority Mail. This will allow time to resend them to another base.
Post Office Requests a Name
If the Post Office requests a name for the address we have furnished, explain that the package is going to a "Position" not to a "Person." It is "Official Mail." By military regulations (DMM 703, Section 2.2.1) military mail must conform to domestic standards. Only mail to personnel requires a name with the address, but this is Official Mail to a department which does not. The domestic standard for official mail is DMM 602, Section 1.4.2 which states, "addressee name or firm name." The Department at a base represents the "firm." The "Commanding General" may be changed as the military wishes but mail to the Commanding General is for that position not for John Smith who may now be a civilian. It is the same as mailing something to "Postmaster" at your zip code. "Official mail" goes to the position not to the man who may change at any time, his personal mail goes to his name. The coupons are also Official Mail for that base and go to their charitable "department," usually Family Services. If a person is a part of the address we have placed that person's name with the address on our site. If there is no name, then we do not have one.
In Regulation 703, Part 2.0 (Overseas Military Mail), Section 2.2.1 there is a section that many within the post office mis-quote. the link here goes directly to that regulation. It reads:
2.2.1 Overseas Address
Overseas military addresses must conform to domestic addressing standards. The delivery line (the second line from the bottom in the address) must show the ship name, unit number, CMR or
PSC number, and box number if assigned. The last line must contain the APO and FPO designation and the appropriate two-letter “state” abbreviation (AA, AE, or AP), followed by the ZIP+4
or 5-digit ZIP Code. AA, AE, and AP are used for addresses with the 3-digit ZIP Code prefixes 340, 090-098, and 962-966, respectively. In addition:
a. Mail addressed to Army personnel must show full name, including first name and middle name or initial, and unit number.
b. Mail addressed to Air Force personnel must show full name, including first name and middle name or initial, and PSC or unit number.
c. Mail addressed to Navy and Marine Corps personnel must show full name, including first name and middle name or initial, and PSC number for shore-based units, or ship name.
d. Mail sent to dependents residing in overseas areas must be addressed in care of the sponsor.
They seem to miss the word "personnel." This section refers to personal mail. We agree that personal mail must have a name. That is why all OCP mail is NOT personal, it is official. It is addressed to a department not a person/individual. This part of the regulation was enacted when the military ended the "Any Service Person" mail program.
As an example, in the ARMY regulation 25-50, linked above, (Preparing & Managing Correspondence), post 9/11 version, it explains how to address "OFFICIAL" mail in Chapter 5. In section 5-7-b-(1) it states
(1) Office name line (attention line). This line contains the name of the office that is to receive the item.
“Commander”is used only when the mail is intended for the commander or when the name of the appropriate office is
unknown. If desired, an office symbol may be placed in parentheses after the office name. When known, the action
officer’s name may also be placed in parentheses at the end of this line, for example, SUPPLY OFFICE (CPT JOHN
DOE) or SUPPLY OFFICE (ASQB–FF/CPT JOHN DOE).
They give the following example:
USPS Mailing Instructions (USPS.com website, Calculate Mail on the left, select US domestic mail, your zip code, the one for your base, current date and choose a box size and a window will pop up):
In the postal explanation linked here it states how to address mail. They state:
A1. Mail addressed to "Any Servicemember" or similar wording such as "Any Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine", "Military Mail", etc., is prohibited. Mail must be addressed to an
individual or job title such as "Commander", "Commanding Officer", etc...
As stated above, our mail is to Family Services at the base and is "Official Mail."
Finally, I have found it a waste of time to argue with a determined mis-informed postal clerk. Almost all postal workers are really good about checking things out, but every once in a while someone decides they know it all and that they do not need to reference the regulations stated above to make sure they are correct when you explain your mail to them or show them a print out of this web page.
Take the package home, post from the internet and call the USPS and schedule a pickup.
Another choice is to try a different post office with better informed or more genial employees. It is not worth the stress to push the issue too far. I have found that I tend to lose.
