'Gifts from the Homefront' routes support to servicemembers

  • Published
  • By the Army and Air Force Exchange Service
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  When issuing suggested holiday mailing deadlines for military care packages, the United States Postal Service made sure to highlight that "all packages and mail must be addressed to individual service members, as required by U.S. Department of Defense regulations."  

Since the DoD suspended mail addressed to "any servicemember" nearly six years ago, individuals and organizations back home, as well as troops deployed to the contingency theater, have devised a variety of cumbersome, and sometimes potentially dangerous, methods to circumvent security and transportation concerns that originally led to the cancellation of the program. 

Noting the great lengths being taken, including posting the full name and rotation dates of Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors to the Internet or sending enough feminine and oral hygiene products to meet the needs of an entire battalion to the attention of one person, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service began working to create a program that would allow any American to safely send support to "any servicemember." 

The resulting "Gifts from the Homefront" program today makes it possible for anyone to leverage services and products already on the ground and available at military exchanges throughout Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom through lightweight gift certificates that can be routed to any servicemember without compromising safety or creating additional demands on the military postal system. 

"A lot of the items you can find at the Whiteman base exchange are already on the shelves at more than 50 exchanges throughout Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom," said Becky Stover, Whiteman store manager. "Leveraging the existing supply chain through 'Gifts from the Homefront' is a win/win for all involved; the sender saves money on postage and doesn't need a direct point of contact while the recipients can go into an exchange and redeem the gift certificate for exactly what they need." 

"Gifts from the Homefront" can be sent to deployed troops by logging on to www.aafes.org or calling (877) 770-4438. From there, the gift certificates are sent to individual service members (designated by the purchaser) or distributed to "any service member" through the Air Force Aid Society, American Red Cross, Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, Fisher House, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Operation Homefront, Operation Interdependence® or USO. 

"Gifts from the Homefront" gift certificates can be redeemed at exchange facilities worldwide, including the Whiteman BX. Recent reports indicate troops shopping their contingency exchanges are reaching for movies, snacks, Military Exchange Global prepaid phone cards and more.