The time for care packages to arrive to our deployed troops overseas varies widely. Different factors affect the delivery times such as:
- the country your Marine is stationed
- time frame s/he will be stationed in country (packages will not be delivered the last 2-3 weeks your Marine is in country)
- location in country
- method of transportion to arrive "in country" (ships or "floats" have scheduled mail drop dates; mail is not dropped daily)
You can generally count on about 2 weeks for your care packages to arrive at your Marine's base station in the Middle East (Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan) and Africa, and 1-2 weeks for arrival to the Pacific Region.
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Suggested mailing dates for arrival by Christmas and Holidays:
You can generally count on up to 2 weeks for the packages to arrive at your Marine's base station, including FOBs (Forward Operating Bases) and various camps in and around Iraq and Afghanistan. As of the middle of 2007, US Postal regulations have changed such that we recommend Priority Mail for all APO/FPO shipping of parcels. (Remember flat rate boxes from the post office are most likely your best deal!) For Hannukah and other holidays, ship Priority Mail at least 2 weeks prior to your desired arrival date.
- Priority Mail - Dec 10
- 1st class card/letters - Dec 10
- Parcel airlift mail - Nov 30
- Space available mail - Nov 25
- Parcel Post - Nov 10
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After the packages arrive "in country", they will need to be sorted for delivery to your Marine. Your Marine most likely has a base station that s/he reports to and possibly stores his/her gear. This may also be the same location s/he accesses a calling center when phoning home. Generally the care package will be delivered to that location for your Marine. If your Marine is not at the base camp, s/he will receive the package upon his/her return to the base camp. This could add an additional delay to your packages actually getting to your Marine.
The Marine Corps uses a "Unit ID" addressing system for combat deployed Marines so the location of your Marine is not actually part of the mailing address you are using.
Though it's incredibly unusual, we had a report of one package we sent through The Care Package Project™ on a Saturday in August 2007 being in the hands of the Marine on the following Wednesday evening—4 days! I do believe that package holds the record. We used USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes to ship.
