DoD: No military mail use for charity efforts

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DoD: No military mail use for charity efforts
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 7, 2009 9:54:14 EST

Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Paul Holton got the message loud and clear, he said, when the Pentagon sent him a “cease and desist” letter about his efforts to help Iraqi children.

“They said it was unlawful to get and receive items that weren’t for yourself, and that it was unlawful to solicit,” Holton said.

The letter came during his tour in Iraq with the Utah National Guard in 2003-04, after he had received thousands of boxes of toys and needed items at his APO address in Iraq, which he gave out to Iraqi children in hospitals, orphanages and elsewhere.

With the holiday mail season approaching, the Military Postal Service Agency is reminding organizations and troops that shipping anything that can be considered humanitarian aid to APO or FPO addresses violates Defense Department regulations.

“We understand that there’s a lot of caring in our service members,” MPSA policy analyst Peter Graeve said. “Military mail is not the right avenue.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/military_mail_110709w/