Some patrons of the Navy Postal Service Company will lose their abroad mail privileges this yr beneath an ongoing assessment of the system, however precisely which patrons will not have entry continues to be being decided, Protection Division officers mentioned this week.
A Pentagon official mentioned Tuesday {that a} assessment of the army mail system’s customers, performed as a part of a latest revision to the Navy Postal Service Handbook, “decided that some … patron classes included over time are both not licensed by legislation or not permitted by Host Nation Settlement.”
Navy retirees have taken the assessment and the revision to imply that they’re shedding a profit that enables them to ship and obtain mail as much as one pound at home charges via Fleet Put up Workplace (FPO) and Army Put up Workplace (APO) mailboxes.
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Two retiree teams within the Pacific have alerted members that they’ll lose their privileges as of Aug. 24. And final week, a postal superintendent at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, informed Stars and Stripes that retirees, widows and non-governmental organizations just like the Purple Cross would lose abroad mail privileges as of that date.
The superintendent, James Groff, mentioned the Protection Division directed the Navy Postal Service Company in Might to finish service for these prospects.
“There’s different retirees which are affected far and wide,” Groff informed the publication.
The information has sparked outrage amongst army retirees dwelling abroad, as they would want to depend on worldwide mail for essential correspondence, together with voting ballots, Division of Veterans Affairs claims and checks, and tax submissions and returns.
Additionally they would lose entry to drugs via Tricare‘s mail-order pharmacy program, which doesn’t ship to worldwide addresses.
“It could have an effect on retirees quite a bit. If you do not have entry to FPO, there is a excessive probability that mail will get misplaced within the [international] system,” mentioned Mike Applegate, a retired Navy chief petty officer who lives within the Philippines. “I do not wish to offend anybody, however the postal system right here is not the best. I keep in mind one time it took me six months to get one thing.”
“I hope it would not occur,” mentioned Wylie Miller, a Navy and Air Power veteran in Naples, Italy. “I volunteer with the retiree group, and there are 37 widows over right here who rely on it to get their survivor profit checks, tax refunds, their drugs. I fear about this group.”
Retirees mentioned they had been particularly alarmed by a memo circulating within the Pacific Area, allegedly to army postal superintendents from the Navy Postal Service Company that tells them to “stand by” for “additional steering on notification and termination procedures (on the acceptable time) for these people and or organizations not licensed MPS privileges.”
“Some examples of people and organizations who will lose entry embrace army retirees, enemy prisoners of struggle, Purple Cross, overseas army people and items, U.S. citizen NATO Direct Rent, banks, college and different authorities companies,” the memo states.
In response to questions from Navy.com, the DoD offered a press release attributed solely to “DoD officers.”
Along with figuring out that some customers had been barred from utilizing the system beneath host nation agreements, Pentagon officers mentioned a minimum of seven of the 21 previously licensed patron teams lacked “established fiscal authority” to have entry to the system, which permits most patrons to ship and obtain mail at home charges via FPO and APO mailboxes.
The Protection Division didn’t reply particular questions on who’s slated to lose entry, nor did it reply to a query for clarification on the seven teams discovered to lack fiscal authority to make use of the mail system.
However the DoD added, nonetheless, that the problem continues to be being debated.
“The Division is reviewing this matter and is delicate to addressing the wants of present [Military Postal Service] patrons in a well timed method,” the assertion learn.
The Navy Postal Service Company was created in 1980 to consolidate the mail programs of the person army providers. It supplies mail assist in 63 international locations via 401 land-based put up workplaces and 626 based mostly on ships, in line with the U.S. Postal Service.
By legislation, it supplies mail providers to active-duty personnel and their members of the family, DoD civilian staff and their households, and U.S. army contractors. Different teams licensed to make use of it, relying on agreements with host international locations, embrace retirees, non-governmental organizations just like the American Purple Cross and USO, banks that serve U.S. service members, American crews of Navy Sealift Command, surviving members of the family and others, in line with the earlier handbook governing the company, which was canceled by the Might 24 replace.
Beneath the brand new revision, the one eligible patrons are “people licensed to make use of MPSA postal providers and mail program inside and outdoors america, in keeping with worldwide agreements; legal guidelines; and Federal, USPS, GSA, and DoD rules.”
Retiree teams have taken this to imply it would not embrace them and are urging expats to contact their elected officers to protest the transfer.
“The impression this can have on the non-[Status of Forces Agreement] army retiree and widow inhabitants is big,” wrote the eighth Army Retiree Council in South Korea to members.
Nonetheless others consider it won’t come to move. In a message posted on a army well being care Fb web page, Erik Thomsen, the casualty supervisor and post-retirement providers officer at U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, mentioned the rumor that retirees are getting the boot is “ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE.”
“There was a misunderstanding in reference to a DOD Directive and the rumor was hatched,” Thomsen wrote. “You’ll nonetheless proceed to obtain your mail. When you’ve got additional questions, please don’t hesitate to name our workplace.”
Thomsen didn’t reply to a request for clarification by publication.
Applegate mentioned retirees ought to be exempt from any adjustments, provided that they’re topic to recall to the armed providers throughout nationwide emergencies.
Whereas he famous that whereas the chance was distant, it’s the legislation.
“I am 69 years outdated. They most likely will not ship me, nevertheless it’s one thing to think about. We’re offended that we’re topic to recall and they’re doing this to us,” Applegate mentioned.
— Patricia Kime could be reached at Patricia.Kime@army.com. Observe her on Twitter @patriciakime.
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