Military mail

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US Navy sailors sorting mail at the Yokohama Naval Base

Military mail is a special military postal system used to integrate the civil postal system in a given country with that country's military posted overseas. Many nations have special systems to transport mail to and from their soldiers stationed abroad. Mail bound for military destinations overseas is normally transported to a designated main office in the home country for consolidation, after which it is transported to the foreign destination, where it is sorted and delivered by military postal clerks to individual recipients.

A primary feature of military mail systems is that normally they are subsidized to ensure that military mail posted between duty stations abroad and the home country (or vice versa) does not cost the sender any more than normal domestic mail traffic. In some cases, military personnel in a combat zone may post letters and/or packages to the home country for free, while in others, senders located in a specific overseas area may send military mail to another military recipient, also located in the same overseas area, without charge. Additionally, military postal systems in a host nation may have special agreements with that host nation's postal service allowing military postal customers to send mail to addresses in that host nation at the military's domestic postage rate using their own postage and currency.

The first known use of military mail was by the Egyptian army in 2000 B.C. Modern military mail is used by various armies, and in some nations may even vary depending on the branch of service.

1 British military postal services
2 United States military postal services
3 Examples
4 External links

[edit] British military postal services

The origins of the British military postal services can be traced back to Saxon times. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle make mention of messengers being sent by king Edward the Elder (899-924) to recall members of the Kent fyrd, but it is generally regarded that the origins of the postal services stem from the Kings Messengers (or Nuncii et Cursores) of medieval times.

The provision of a mail service to soldiers was a very ad hoc affair until 1882 when the Army Post Office Corps (APOC) was raised from 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers to accompany the British Expeditionary Force sent to Egypt in the same year. It tasks was to perform "Postal Duties in the Field". The 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers was recruited entirely from the staff of the British General Post Office, and was commanded by Lt Col JL du Plat Taylor, whose idea it was to have a Postal Corps.

In 1913 the Army Post Office Corps was re-organised to form the Royal Engineers (Postal Section), under a Director of the Army Postal Service (DAPS), Lt Col W Price RE. The service remained part of the Royal Engineers until it was transferred to the Royal Logistics Corps on its formation in 1993.

At the end of the First World War (1914-18) the Royal Engineers (Postal Section) along with the Royal Air Force (RAF) helped to pioneer international airmail services, by setting up airmail routes between Folkstone, England and Cologne (Koln), Germany to service the British Army of the Rhine. During the Second World War (1939-45) they popularised the aerogramme, when they adopted it as the Air Mail Letter Card in 1941 to reduce the bulk and weight of mail so that it could be transported by air.

In 1962 the Royal Engineers (Postal & Courier Communications), took over the responsibility for handling the Royal Navy’s mail and thereby became a provider of a tri-service facility based in the old Middlesex Regiment's Depot at Mill Hill. Most of the 'Posties' in the hanger like sorting office were female.

[edit] United States military postal services

Until 1980, each U.S. military service managed its own military mail program. In 1980, the Department of Defense (DoD) designated the Secretary of the Army as the single military mail manager. The Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA) was created to perform this task, with a jointly-staffed headquarters located in the National Capital Region. MPSA is required to adhere to United States Postal Service (USPS) rules, federal laws, and various international laws and agreements for movement of military mail into over 85 countries. MPSA is the single DoD point of contact with the USPS. It conducts DoD contingency planning and provides postal support to theater Combatant Commanders through Services' theater postal commands. It serves as a proponent of DoD's cost control policy for DoD official mail and as the functional director for military mail. MPSA also monitors transportation funds dedicated to overseas mail movement.

In addition to supporting U.S. military installations overseas, the MPSA also supports mail delivery to and from U.S. diplomatic facilities abroad and, of course, to deployed personnel in combat zones worldwide. In most (but not all) locations, special services such as Express Mail, registered mail, certified mail, money orders, etc. are offered. Through the furnishing of overseas transport and delivery services for U.S. military mail between the U.S. and overseas duty stations, postage rates are equivalent to U.S. domestic postage rates. All military mail between the U.S. and overseas locations is subject to customs inspection in the country of destination, and customs declarations must normally be attached to packages and larger mail pieces. Some host nations may restrict or prohibit the mailing or receipt of certain items, such as pornography, meat and pork products, firearms, tobacco, etc., via the U.S. military postal system.

In accordance with treaties and other international agreements, use of U.S. military postal services overseas is normally restricted to authorized customers, i.e., U.S. personnel (military, civilian and diplomatic) stationed overseas (either permanently or temporarily) and their dependents. Retired U.S. military personnel living overseas may also have limited access to the military postal service, depending on their country of residence.

Overseas military post offices operated or supported by the Army or Air Force use the city abbreviation APO [Army Post Office / Air (Force) Post Office], while overseas military post offices operated or supported by the Navy, Marine Corps or U.S. Coast Guard use the city abbreviation FPO (Fleet Post Office). Three (3) quasi-State codes have been assigned depending on the (approximate) geographic location of the military mail recipient and also the carrier route to be taken. They are: