I think you misunderstood me. I didn't mean to disparage you Kurt, I WISH we could still send cards and packages this way. I was just pointing out that it's no longer possible to do this. If it were, I would have been the first to take your info and run with it.
The address is actually correct. You CAN mail letters to that address, but unfortunately you can no longer mail letters address to "any soldier". Due to concerns about anthrax and other contaminants, the military no longer delivers anonymous letters or packages that are not addressed to a specific soldier with their specific name on it.
I for one used to enjoy sending cards and packages this way. I actually gained a couple of good pen-pals this way as I was growing up. But unfortunately not everyone in this world would be wishing our troops well. We used to be able to send care packages. School children and families would send baked goods--addressed to any soldier as a thank you and as encouragement. As you can imagine, the military no longer wants soldiers consuming anything where the soldier doesn't know the sender personally.
If you and your office still want to do something, go to anysoldier.com (there are others as well). On these sites, officers who are deployed sign up with their name and address and the number and genders of the people under them so that groups can send care packages that will actually be delivered by the military because they are addressed to the officer, eliminating the "any soldier" issue. Also, should something be delivered that is of question, there is a paper trail back to the person who sent it. We did this last year and it was great fun. Even on that website, there is a notice that if you send baked goods that are not professionally packaged, the soldiers are advised to throw them out. It really is sad that someone who is willing to die for my freedom has to worry that the cookie he/she is eating could kill them first.
So don't think I was jumping on you for not knowing. I only know because I live in a fairly militarized area of the country and this has been the topic of conversation several times in the past few years.
to post a reply:
login - or -
register