Military Personnel Overseas Will Enjoy Any Christmas Wishes that You Send Them

Many years ago it was easy to send anything you might like to any service person. You simply addressed it to "Any Service Member" and took it to the post office. Then came terrorism, and anti-terrorism, and we cannot any longer send a package, or even a Christmas card, addressed to "Any Service Member."

This does not mean that individuals serving in the military are any less appreciative then they were back then, nor does it mean they are any less deserving. So, how can we send an individual a meaningful Christmas gift, and make sure that they will receive it?

One method that has worked really well for decades is the USO. Their website is listed below. For a twenty-five dollar, tax-deductible donation, the USO will deliver a care package and a personal message from you to a deployed service member. You can also make the donation in the name of an "honoree" who will be notified that you made the donation in their name. This can be a very meaningful gift to someone who doesn't want any more "stuff" for Christmas but who's heart is with the people serving overseas.

If you wish to donate particular items to service people overseas, then prior arrangements will need to be made to have the manufacturer deliver the items directly to the USO. This again, is because of the increased need for security.

The USO also cannot arrange for the care packages to go to certain service people, yes, again, because of security. It is not always possible to know where certain individuals are or will be, and that helps protect those individuals.

However, if you do know a certain individual for whom you wish to make Christmas special, then you may contact that service-person's unit at their home base in the United States. All deployed units leave administrative personnel back in the U.S. to handle payroll and other situations for the deployed service members. The contact person in the U.S. can tell you whether the particular items you have in mind would even be allowed at that service member's duty station. Deployed personnel have many restrictions about what they can have with them. They will most likely suggest phone cards or gift certificates.

Lastly, do not forget that the deployed service members almost all have family at home, and they are limited by geography in what they can do for those families. If you can help a service member's mother fix something at her house, or put together a bicycle for a service member's son, or even help string the lights at the service member's church, things they cannot be here to help with, you will certainly have filled a Christmas wish list item for that service member overseas.