Unsolicited Care Packages Clog Military Mail Pipeline to Mideast

Are Americans showing too much support for the troops in Iraq?

The U.S. military and post office delivery systems have been so inundated with unsolicited care packages intended for uniformed men and women in the Middle East that postal officials say the deluge is slowing delivery of mail from family and friends.

Packages addressed to unnamed soldiers are considered a security risk and cannot be delivered, so the U.S. Postal Service is urging Americans to stop trying to send such items -- even though the mail is usually shipped off with good intentions. The request likely will mean a cut in Postal Service revenue.

The volume of mail shipped to Kuwait has jumped from 21,000 pounds per week in October 2002 to 500,000 pounds a day this month, forcing the Postal Service to add two chartered 747 cargo jets a week to deliver the extra mail, according to Postal Service officials. Mail sent to the troops is shipped overseas by the U.S. Postal Service and then transferred to the Military Postal Service Agency.

*

Overwhelmed Service

“This incredible assault of mail is competing with the mail from the loved ones,” Postal Service spokesman Mark Saunders said.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Postal Service canceled several programs that let people send packages addressed to “any soldier” deployed abroad because of security concerns.

Nevertheless, since the Iraq war began, such packages have been flooding post offices across the country. When such parcels are left at a post office, the Postal Service returns the packages to the sender or, if there is no return address, the contents are destroyed.

The military suggests that Americans who want to show their support for the troops use other programs. For example, a $25 donation to the USO will pay for a care package that is handed to troops as they board jets bound for the Middle East. The package includes a prepaid phone card, toiletries, a disposable camera and other items.

In the last few weeks, a USO spokeswoman says, the group has distributed about 40,000 such packages. (To contribute, call 866-876-4483, or 866 USO-GIVE, or visit the Web site at www.usocares.org.)

The military also encourages supporters to send e-mail messages to the troops through the Web site www.defendamerica.mil. The Defense Commissary Agency (www.commissaries.com), which operates the commissaries on U.S. military bases, also accepts donations for gift certificates that the families of deployed soldiers can use to buy groceries.

Still, some efforts to ship care packages to deployed soldiers continue to operate with the blessing of the military.

For example, at the Marine Corps Air Combat Training Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., a volunteer group of Marine wives and friends created the “Desert Mail Call” program, packaging lip balm, sunscreen, baby wipes, toothpaste and other toiletries and shipping them to commanding officers in the Middle East for distribution to Marines.

But the Twentynine Palms program has been hit with so many donated items that organizers are now asking supporters to send only cards and letters. The program has been shipping 20 to 40 large boxes to the Middle East every other week.

“We have just been totally overwhelmed,” said Beverly Miller, an assistant in the Desert Mail Call program.

There are also smaller efforts, such as the care package program operated by Carolyn Blashek, an Encino mother of two who packs donated goods in her living room. The eight to 10 packages she ships out each week are sent to soldiers in Iraq on behalf of family and friends who cannot afford to buy or ship the parcels. Blashek said the names of the soldiers come from their families and friends and through her contacts at the USO, where she is a volunteer.

*

Exceeded Age Limit

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Blashek, 48, said she wanted to show her support by joining the military reserves but was told she exceeded the maximum age, which is 35 for the Army, Marines and Air Force, and 37 for the Navy.

So Blashek, a former attorney, volunteered with the Los Angeles chapter of the USO and launched Operation Gratitude, the care package program she operates almost single-handedly, often paying the shipping costs out of her own pocket.

Some of the items included in the packages -- toiletries, snacks, magazines, crossword puzzles and stationery -- have been donated by individuals, schools and businesses.

“As long as the U.S. sends troops overseas, I’ll continue to do this,” she said.