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Reach Troops by Christmas
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Capital News Service WASHINGTON - There are just a few more shopping days left 'til Christmas -- if you're sending holiday mail to troops overseas. The Military Postal Service is encouraging people to get their cards and presents in the mail by Saturday. They can wait as late as Dec. 11 and still have packages delivered by Christmas, but it will cost more. Maryland post offices are projecting that military mail will account for one-tenth of their overseas holiday mail, said Deborah Yackley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service in the region. Beginning this month, she said, three trailer-loads of military mail -- 18,000 to 21,000 pieces a day -- will be trucked from Maryland to a hub in New Jersey for overseas shipping. Mark DeDomenic, chief of operations for the Military Postal Service, said the smaller the packages, the easier they are to get to front-line troops. The maximum size accepted is 108 inches total, length plus circumference. And, he said, never send toys or electronics with batteries already installed. "If something starts ticking, it puts us in bomb mode," he said. "It can shut down the entire postal system." Copyright © 2004 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism
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