3 Ways To Communicate With Your Sailor During Deployment

A frequently asked question amongst sailor’s families is “how do I communicate with them while they’re deployed?”. We’ve got you.

Here are 3 ways to communicate:

1. Facebook messenger

This is an easy simple way to have a conversation with your service member while they’re deployed. This was me and my wife’s preferred method of contact. It was a nice way to stay in touch and have something resembling a “normal” conversation.

However, sending a picture over messenger didn’t always work nor did messenger always load — this is where emailing came into play.

2. via military email

Your service member’s military email will look like this: john.smith@cvn68.navy.mil

It’s best to ask your service member for their exact email address, but it will look something like this. CVN68 is the USS Nimitz, so this will vary from ship to ship.

Communicating over email was another popular method. This was a way that we were able to share pictures of the kids (usually only 1 or 2 at a time or the email wouldn’t go through). Email was also something that loaded more consistently than Facebook messenger, so we really liked utilizing emails during deployment.

3. Handwritten letters

Some people prefer this method. It’s exciting for the sailor to receive letters from family and friends back home, and there’s something special about putting pen to paper and writing a letter to your deployed service member.

One thing to understand before deciding to use this method of communication is that you must allow at least 2 weeks for a letter to reach the Middle East. During the holiday season, USPS asks you to allow up to 5 weeks for delivery.

You will need to make sure the service member has what they need to respond. Here is the essentials sailors should make sure to pack before deployment so that they can send letters/postcards:

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Before mailing a letter to your loved one, you’ll have to find their military address.

Military addresses will look a bit different from usual. For example, basic civilian address may look like this:

John Smith

Street Address 

City, State Zip

A military member’s service address is structured similarly, but usually looks like this: 

John Smith

PSC 101 Box 200

Camp Swift

APO, AE 10101-1001

The number one question we get has to do with confusion over this format. We'll summarize them breifly here, and more in depth below.

Name Line:

Like normal addresses, this is just the name of the service member.

Unit Line(s):

In the example above, these would be the second and third lines of the address. Your service member will provide you with this information. Lots of times, it just looks like jumbled letters and numbers, but enter it as instructed. Military branches love their acronyms, and military addresses are no different. 

City/State Lines:

This last section is what normally throws people off. The APO/FPO part is just the city, while the AP/AE, etc., is the state. The country is always United States. Below is a list of the most common acronyms you'll see and what they stand for.  Keep this in mind if the address seems unfamiliar.

AA: Armed Forces America

AE: Armed Forces Europe (includes the now-defunct "AM" designation, which covers the Middle East) 

AP: Armed Forces Pacific

APO: Army Post Office

CMR: Community Mail Room

DPO: Diplomatic Post Office

FPO: Fleet Post Office

OMDC: Official Mail Distribution Center

PSC: Postal Service Center

UMR: Unit Mail Room

Above all, trust that your military member has given you the right address. The military is very good at getting the packages where they need to go, even with little information. All you need to do is get it to the unit, and they’ll know who to give it to, usually by name. So if you don’t know the exact division, and your service member hasn’t given it, don’t worry!

Zip Code:

The numbers at the end are just the military zip code. It will either be a 9 or 5 digit zip code, just like in civilian addresses. herocarepackages.com

sources

herocarepackages.com

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