A Soldiers Blog

Thefts prompt caution on packages to Iraq

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer

Items are being pilfered from some boxes mailed to service members in Iraq, according to troops, family members and morale-mail organizers.
The Military Postal Service Agency has received occasional complaints about rifled or stolen mail, but has no indication from command sources that “this is a widespread or organized problem, nor of major loss or theft,” stated Marine Capt. Luke Gové, an MPSA spokesman, in an e-mail response to questions.

“In each case that we have encountered, the parcel was not insured,” Gové added.

The military has supervisors with oversight at key facilities during critical periods when mail moves from the U.S. Postal Service to the military system, and “monitoring procedures in place to minimize theft and tampering,” he said.

Still, theft occurs, according to some troops and family members.

Army Staff Sgt. Charlie Goodreau, who is deployed to Iraq, said it seems that boxes are rifled through for the best items, then sealed back up. Another soldier’s wife at Fort Sill, Okla., who asked not to be identified, said tobacco has been taken from boxes she sent to her husband. She has stopped listing it on the customs form that must be placed on packages.

Mary Kay Salomone, founder of Operation Support Our Troops, estimates that about 98 percent of the 195 tons of comfort items her group has sent since February 2002 has made it to their destinations, but that’s not a certainty.

She said her volunteers have reported complaints about troops not receiving items that were mailed to them.

“We’re not missing whole boxes ... it’s items out of boxes,” she said. “None of the boxes that had pilfering were broken open. And they were taped over. Ridiculous things are missing, like 12 rolls of toilet paper.”

Her group includes a core of 400 volunteers with links to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., but also includes thousands of other volunteers. They send items to chaplains and to individual troops, in many cases in response to requests for specific items.

The problems apparently are confined to items being sent to the Middle East, Salomone said. Her group has sent packages all over the world — to Navy ships, Korea, the Philippines and elsewhere, and has heard no reports they were pilfered.

“With the new round of deployments, it’s important for family members to know how to safely get their packages to the troops,” she said.

Frankie Mayo, who founded “Operation AC,” said many of the 200 Christmas trees her group sent didn’t reach their destination in Iraq.

“A lot of the combat boots we send get grabbed, but I got wise to them,” she said in an e-mail. The group now sends boots in plain brown boxes to conceal the manufacturer’s name.

Mayo thinks supply problems facing troops in Iraq have led some to resort to becoming “sort of pirates, I guess,” she said. “But to me, I don’t care as long as it’s a U.S. [service member] who has our stuff. I’ll just keep sending more.”

Gové said one way to cushion mail losses is to purchase insurance for packages. Without it, no claim can be filed if a box is pilfered or goes missing.

Goodreau said many of the reports he’s heard involved pilfering of boxes that had no insurance.

The postal agency offers these tips for avoiding theft:

• Wrap parcels securely to make tampering or theft more difficult. For example, tape the opening of your box and reinforce all seams with 2-inch-wide clear or brown packaging tape, reinforced packing tape or paper tape. Tips on wrapping parcels can be found at www.usps.com.

• Attach the top portion of the U.S. Customs Form 2976A to the outside of the parcel, but put the portion listing the contents inside the parcel. Most senders are unaware that they can do this, Gové said.

• Insurance is encouraged, especially when high-value items are shipped.

To file a claim for suspected theft, the sender should contact the U.S. Postal Service.

The Military Postal Service Agency customer hotline number is (800) 810-6098; e-mail is mpsawebcontas@hqda.army.mil.







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Forward thinking
Postal officials in the Iraq theater offer these guidelines for returning troops to ensure a smooth transition in forwarding mail to their stateside addresses:
• Troops should notify family, friends and correspondents to stop sending mail to the theater at least 15 days, and preferably 30 days, before they move from base camp to redeployment site.

• When mailing items out of theater before returning home, troops should mark parcels and letters “MPS” for free delivery of items that are not valuable. There is no reimbursement for lost or damaged items marked “MPS.” Valuable items should be insured, or sent by registered mail, according to 3rd Personnel Command.

• Redeploying troops need to complete and return two change-of-address cards, available from unit mail clerks or personnel offices. Mail will be forwarded for 60 days by either the APO or a forward mail clerk.

Officials say the military mail system will be heavily taxed over the current rotation period. On average, redeploying troops send home two or three personal packages.