Originally Posted by stewyscrewy
After being in the receiving end of uncle sams mailing system It doesnt matter how fast you ship it to an apo or fpo the mail once it leaves there it can take months to arrive in its final destination. I would not waste the extra money on the priority mailings as they do you no good. I do know that the APO mail center is In Miami Florida and the FPO mail center is out of San Francisco California. YThe mail going overseas is always shipped on flights over seas as space is available. weapons and medical supplies are priority. Next comes food. after that is items that are required for maintenance ect. then comes the Mail. I hope this doesnt cause anyone dispare. but it is how they work it.
I always ship Priority to the APO. It takes five days to APO if I don't. I have a sterling track record of getting packages to destination in a week. And, I always ship to outside the wire folks. Since I make weekly care packages for multiple folks, time is important. I've never had packages back up and arrive all at once or sit in fuel or get smashed to smithereens. I've been doing this since the invasion of Iraq.
For me, Priority is unnecessary for FPO but it does make doing everything from home easier. I've never used stamps.com. The USPS is my mail from home agent of choice.
Now I've just jinxed myself to a massive mail failure on all levels.
Edit: If you send anything for local children, skip the candy. Send crayons and notebooks, small stuffed animals or soccer balls. All with the permission of your point of contact, of course. Also locals need socks in the winter.