Just in case anyone here has an answer to the following post I submitted to the USPS Questions under the same New Topic line.

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I want to send a book to a friend stationed in Iraq.  I'm asking here because I think this is a postal question more than a PBS question. 

The following would be a sample of a miltary address:

Rank FirstName LastName 1234 AWS / AAFES Building Complex APO AE 09241

I am questioning the last line in the above example.  The "city" is APO and the "state" is AE and then the ZIP.  I want to know what's going to happen if I request a book to be sent to this address via PBS. 

I know if I send packages, they have to have a customs form attached.  And I would think anything being sent to Iraq would have to be sent First Class at the very least.  Would a Media Mail package even make it there? 

As I'm writing this, I'm thinking more and more that the easiest thing would be to have a book sent to me and I pass it along.  I'm still asking because there are a lot more people in places overseas that are not Iraq or Afghanistan and have more permanent addresses. 

I have sent books overseas to soldiers using media mail and they arrived.

A couple members here at least used to be active in booksforsoldiers, they may have correlating views, and certainly more recent experience.

I too have sent books to troops via media mail with no problems - it just takes a bit longer to get there.  You still have to do the customs form.

Oh.... me! me!  *waves arms madly*  I'm a Books for Soldiers person!  :)

I've been sending books to Iraq,  Afghanistan, The Horn of Africa, Kosovo, etc. for over three years now using media mail.  I haven't had any packages go lost yet.  Really, it doesn't take that much longer using media mail vs. first class mail.  A few days at the most, in most cases. 

If you ask another member to ship the book to your friend, they'll have to use a customs form but can opt to send it at the media mail rate.

APO/AEO/etc. addresses are considered US postal addresses, so typically you can use the same services and rates, you just might have to use a customs form and it might take longer.