Supporting Our Military This Holiday Season

U.S. Army Soldiers from 2-23 Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, at Combat Outpost Mokista, unload mail on Christmas Eve in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. (U.S. Army Photo/Spc. Shawn M. Cassatt)

During the holiday season, we hear from individuals, communities, corporations and non-profit organizations who want to show their appreciation to our Servicemembers and our Military Families.  Care packages are always a welcome treat for our deployed servicemembers, especially during the holidays when they are away from home defending our freedoms. Thoughts and acts of kindness from others for our military families at home are also appreciated.  Here are some ways you can show your support:

Care Packages

•  While we, the Department of Defense, do not specifically send care packages, we do have various morale and recreation activities for our troops both at home and abroad.
• Citizens desiring to send care packages, cards and letters to deployed servicemembers are encouraged to identify troops through family and friends. Individuals may also partner with some of the non-profit organizations listed our site in the Community Resources section. These organizations have direct contact with many of the servicemembers and units deployed and can tell you about desired items and shipping frequency.
• For U.S. Postal Service holiday mail deadlines, visit: https://www.usps.com/shippingdates/welcome.htm.

NOTE – Because U.S. forces are coming home from Iraq by the end of the year, the U.S. Postal Service has stopped accepting mail addressed to military post offices in Iraq as of November 17, Defense Department officials said - CLICK HERE for details.

Holiday Cards and Letters

Safety and security reasons no longer allow packages to be addressed to “Any Soldier” or to an entire base in general.  The American Red Cross is sponsoring a national “Holiday Mail for Heroes” campaign to receive and distribute holiday cards to servicemembers, veterans and their families in the United States and abroad. The card campaign includes those working and receiving care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. A special P.O. Box address may be found at http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail. Cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9.

Photo Courtesy of the USO

Thanking Our Veterans and Military Families

Our Military Families serve too, and you can send them a message of thanks! Visit the USO’s Thanks From Everywhere page and let our Servicemembers, Veterans and Families know they are appreciated.  You can also remember our hospitalized veterans in local VA medical centers.

How Our Communities are Showing Their Appreciation

Little Patriots Embraced, a non-profit based in St. Louis, is providing toys for military children. They currently have more than 6,400 children on their waiting list.

Operation Homefont’s TriState Chapter allows communities in the New York/NewJersey/Connecticut area to show their appreciation for military families through their “Adopt a Family” program.

Trees for Troops has been sharing the holiday spirit with our Servicemembers and Military Families since 2005, sending an average of 17,000 Christmas trees per year to more than 60 installations in the US and overseas.