(Vanity) Mail Theft on Army Bases

2/23/2007 | frankenMonkey

[frankenMonkey]

Hi All.
I'm an Army dad. A package that I sent to my son at a stateside Army base was never delivered to him, through the USPS. Talking with a few other soldiers on the base, theft of packages from home seems to be rather common.
I plan on bringing some attention to this matter, but am looking for any additional firsthand experiences that any of you may have had regarding this issue. No personal details needed, just any occurances that you may have had, with approximate date and base. My focus is stateside bases, any military branch.

[frankenMonkey]

Thanks much.
An Army Dad.

[CyberAnt]

I'd be calling the Postmaster at my local post office and YELLING MY HEAD OFF!!

If you make enough noise (say to your local TV outlet), maybe somebody like FedEx will offer you a great rate. Worth a try. If the USPS doesn't want to do the job .. better to find somebody who will.

[bnelson44]

Send through UPS or Fed-X and track it.

[Kay Ludlow]

The question would be if it is disappearing while in custody of USPS, in custody of the military base, or if there's some kind of contractor in between.

[Kay Ludlow]

File a complaint with USPS each time it happens. The inspection service watches for patterns to identify where there may be a thief, and with enough specific complaints will find them within the USPS. They also work with other law enforcement agencies, in the event that it's happening at an interim shipping facility or at the destination base.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I am asking the following question since you didn't say: Do you live in the United States or in another country?

[BluH2o]

Going back a number of years when I served in the Marine Corps I subscribed to Playboy magazine (Playboy magazine was a hot commodity in those days). Rarely did I receive Playboy magazine that didn't look like every one at the FPO (Fleet Post Office) had leafed thru it ... most arrived dog eared and oftentimes the centerfold was missing. Just recounting my experience with the military mail system.

[armymarinemom]

Will keep a look out for families who complain. Unrelated one of my sons just had to change banks due to identity theft involving both him and his wife. Guess who is being very unhelpful....Bank of America

[grey_whiskers]

Guess who is being very unhelpful....Bank of America India.

There, all fixed.

[OldSmaj]

Theft of USPS items is very rare, but does occur.

If your son is in a training situation, it is likely that the package would not be delivered to him directly, but rather to the orderly room of the training company.

I would suggest that you contact the local PO, get the number of the Inspection Service and let them know the circumstances.

They take theft reports very, very seriously.

Your chances of recovery and/or satisfaction in the situation will be greatly increased if you sent the package with Delivery Confirmation.

Signature Confirmation is even better.

On the other hand, if it were mailed as Media Mail, as some persons do, hoping to avoid the higher costs of Standard, Priority or First Class, then it may have been opened to verify the status.

If that ocurred, it will be returned to you by slow boat, with a postage due notice and an explanation of why.

Believe it or not, that occurs quite frequently.

But still and all, there is a good chance that if it were delivered to a training unit, then it may have been put up for the trainee to receive later, or, worst case, stolen by some of the recycles or the cadre themselves.

In the future, mail it with Signature Confirmation. That requires the carrier to get an actual signature of the addressee on the Form 3849, which goes to an archive and can be later retrieved for comparison or tracking purposes.

Of course, if you want the utmost security, send it Registered. It costs a little more, in addition to the postage, but it absolutely guarantees the arrival because everybody that touches it must sign for it.

Good luck and my thanks to your son for his service.

[Boundless]

> Your chances of recovery and/or satisfaction
> in the situation will be greatly increased
> if you sent the package with Delivery Confirmation.

DC is pretty cheap (free on Priority if even just
the label is web printed).

DC supposedly now works with APO/FPO, and increasingly,
DC tracking includes waypoints.

Insured is also trackable within APO/FPO.

[verity]

Sound advice.

[mhx]

I've had a problem with mail "going missing" passing through the Richmond, CA mail facility, and I know other people who have also. I don't know if other mail facilities have the same issue. If you are in the SF Bay Area though, watch out.

[Kimmers]

My son uses USAA. Was that the bank your son used? So far he has been treated real well by them.

[CyberAnt]

And .. the Postmaster is just the guy who can find out.

Tampering with the mail is a FELONY .. and nobody should ignore any acts perpetrated against our mail delivery - regardless of where the offence takes place.

[armymarinemom]

The Bank he did use was Bank of America. They have been snotty and refused to help with an account activity watch.He changed banks but honestly I don't think I will name which bank he went to.

[Grizzled Bear]

Every few years I hear about a huge bust involving postal theft.

Around 89 they caught a theft ring at Mildenhall in the UK. All of the mail for US troops in England went through Mildenhall. The investigators rigged small transmitters in mail bags that sent a signal when the bag was opened. After the guys were caught their rooms were searched. They found bundles of Christmas cards in several rooms. They took those because a lot of families still send their "kids" cash. They found a box of cookies in one room that somebody's Mom had baked. The thief had eaten about half the box.

In Germany during the (not sure about other places) the "orderly rooms" handle the Army mail. My AF unit was co-located with the Army. Soldiers (and Airmen) are given training through the USPS and it's an additional duty. A soldier ordered a new computer through the mail and it was way overdue. One of his postal clerks remembered seeing it. The commander ordered the rooms of all the mail clerks to be searched and it was found, set up, in the thief's room. The moron still had the boxes in the corner.

Unfortunately there are thieves everywhere, even in the Military. I truly believe we have fewer than you would find in the general population. Military personnel who handle mail are trained and are aware that mail theft is a federal crime.

[Txsleuth]

BTTT

[frankenMonkey]

USA.

[frankenMonkey]

At his permanent duty base. Living on base in single soldier quarters. I haven't dug into the circumstances deeply (yet) but I believe that there is a contractor inbetween the USPS and delivery to the barracks.

I have used various USPS services (insured, etc.) and UPS. It just is one of those things that gets me riled up - those guys (and gals) already put up with a lot.

[ASOC]

I maintain a PO box on base because I got tired of my mail being taken out of the box at the house.

We live across from a lrge park, the ...huummm, bums, will rifle the boxes looking for cash or checks.

[Kaslin]

If you had clicked on his name you would have noticed he lives in Utah

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I did click on his name, but that doesn’t mean he is living in the United States. Many FR folks who live abroad put their state’s flag on that page rather than the country where they residing. Therefore, the question had validity.

Regards.

[Freedom4US]

Most likely the pilferage is happening after the packages leave USPS control, and into Army postal control. Complaining to the postmaster won't do a hell of a lot - but you can be sure that CID will be working with Postal inspectors to nab the culprits.

[csvset]

There was a story posted on FR back around April '05 regarding the theft of packages headed to overseas military bases. I couldn't find the exact article on FR, but I did find an article about the case.

Link only due to copyright.

13 at SFO arrested in case of cargo thefts

[dave_army_dad]

I’ve been having this problem for about 4 or 5 months now.
My son is in Fort Hood, Texas... I’m in Cleveland, Ohio.
It began as a birthday card with enough money to buy a
toolbox for the back of his truck... Gone.
My ex-wife sent 2 greeting cards that never arrived.
I began to send mail with Delivery confirmation, which makes
it priority mail, and costs about $5.50 for a letter.
The next 3 made it OK. There is a tracking number that you
can use to view letter status at usps.com.
The next one appeared to be stolen again. It arrived in Killeen, Texas on February 6, 2008 (I mailed it on 2/4/08). On 2/21 he had not received it.
In the past, he has found magazines in his name in other buildings on base, that he never received.
This time I sent email to 3 departments on base (from the Hood website), but they came back as invalid.... I made a call to CID, and sent them an email,,, with the tracking information,,, and my promise to help by sending bills with the serial numbers registered with them ahead of time.... I never got a reply from the email,,, that’s why I called... I was told that it’s not a big enough problem for
CID to get involved with,,, and sounds like just someone not doing their job... I told him it was a mail theif, probably not at the post office, but on base... He said to call the IG or the MP’s...
The next day, my son called and said he got my letter... HMMMMMM!!!
Maybe the guy got involved after all... I think they target letters that appear to have money or gift cards.... I have not done anything else... On a whim I searched for “army mail theft” and saw this site.
Good luck!
Dave