Hi everyone, I'm very new to this site so please bare with me. I was wondering if anyone knows how often our sailors receive mail from us while they're on deployment. Thank you
Hi!! I am new to this site as well. My (newly) husband is on deployment right now but he is not on a ship. From my experience they can receive mail once a week.
This actually depends on the ship. Smaller ships get mail less often (once or more a week) where a carrier can get it every day. Those on the ground I have no idea about how their mail works.
Hi, I'm new to this site, too, but I'm not new to the Navy life. I was a Sailor, my husband still is a Sailor, and our son just graduated from Navy boot camp. I can tell you that it's been my experience that mail is one of those things that have a LOT of variables.
For one thing, like the other people have said, the size of the ship or where they're deployed if on land can have a lot to do with it. When my husband was on a carrier he was able to get his mail a lot faster than when he was on one of the smaller ships - for the very reasons that were described. When he was in Iraq, it took about 2 - 3 weeks. We're currently stationed overseas, and packages can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.
There are a couple of things that I've found have helped to get the packages there quicker. For one thing - a couple of smaller sized boxes (think the Postal Service Priority Mail sized boxes) will usually get there a LOT faster than one big box. The reason is when they're loading the mail, they don't look to see who it's to, but they do see that they can fit 2 smaller boxes in that space, or one bigger box, so, if all the mail can't go in that shipment, the larger box is more likely to be "bumped" to make room for more of the smaller packages. It will still get delivered, but it might take longer.
Also, I know a lot of people say don't send things priority mail, because it won't get there as fast. Personally, I almost always send it priority mail (not the express though, that is a waste). By doing this, it gets to the Military Postal System faster, even if it goes "regular" from there, and, as I mentioned about the box size, they come in standard (easy for the military to transport) box sizes, so they seem to process through the system faster. Also, you can really pack them full of stuff, and they don't charge based on the weight of the box :-)
Something else to consider, when you start to get towards the end of his deployment, you might want to ask your Ombudsman if they have a date that they suggest you stop sending packages by. I know there's been times my husband has come home, gone on leave, and then gone back to the ship to find the last couple of boxes sitting there waiting for him, because I mailed them too close to his return date....
Rare_Breed
Hi!! I am new to this site as well. My (newly) husband is on deployment right now but he is not on a ship. From my experience they can receive mail once a week.
Dec 17, 2011
This actually depends on the ship. Smaller ships get mail less often (once or more a week) where a carrier can get it every day. Those on the ground I have no idea about how their mail works.
Dec 20, 2011
sailorwifenmom
Hi, I'm new to this site, too, but I'm not new to the Navy life. I was a Sailor, my husband still is a Sailor, and our son just graduated from Navy boot camp. I can tell you that it's been my experience that mail is one of those things that have a LOT of variables.
For one thing, like the other people have said, the size of the ship or where they're deployed if on land can have a lot to do with it. When my husband was on a carrier he was able to get his mail a lot faster than when he was on one of the smaller ships - for the very reasons that were described. When he was in Iraq, it took about 2 - 3 weeks. We're currently stationed overseas, and packages can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.
There are a couple of things that I've found have helped to get the packages there quicker. For one thing - a couple of smaller sized boxes (think the Postal Service Priority Mail sized boxes) will usually get there a LOT faster than one big box. The reason is when they're loading the mail, they don't look to see who it's to, but they do see that they can fit 2 smaller boxes in that space, or one bigger box, so, if all the mail can't go in that shipment, the larger box is more likely to be "bumped" to make room for more of the smaller packages. It will still get delivered, but it might take longer.
Also, I know a lot of people say don't send things priority mail, because it won't get there as fast. Personally, I almost always send it priority mail (not the express though, that is a waste). By doing this, it gets to the Military Postal System faster, even if it goes "regular" from there, and, as I mentioned about the box size, they come in standard (easy for the military to transport) box sizes, so they seem to process through the system faster. Also, you can really pack them full of stuff, and they don't charge based on the weight of the box :-)
Something else to consider, when you start to get towards the end of his deployment, you might want to ask your Ombudsman if they have a date that they suggest you stop sending packages by. I know there's been times my husband has come home, gone on leave, and then gone back to the ship to find the last couple of boxes sitting there waiting for him, because I mailed them too close to his return date....
Anyway, I hope this helps answer your questions.
Dec 26, 2011