Saturday, August 4, 2012

FRG Meeting

Dear Spouses and Family Members,

Please join us for a Family Readiness Group meeting at the Battalion Classroom on Monday, August 6 at 1800 (6pm).
This time together will give you a chance to meet your service member's coworkers and family members as well as the command team!  We will also have a Military Family Life Consultant (MFLC) available to share special resources available to you as the loved one of a soldier.

 On the agenda for this meeting:
Introduction of Command Team and FRG Leaders
Unit Training Calendar
MFLC Presentation
Fundraising
Event Planning 
...and last but not least....PIE IN THE FACE!  (Please bring a couple dollars for a chance to put a whipped cream pie in the face of your favorite member of command or FRG leader!!!  Proceeds will be deposited into the FRG account for future activities.)

We want your ideas and input.  This is your FRG.  We are here to serve you and our paratroopers!  If we all work together, we will grow into a strong network of support.
We will also have potluck dinner.  Please feel free to bring your favorite dish to share!  Beverages and table service will be provided.

After the meeting, you are welcome to stay and help put together care packages for our deployed service members. :)

Hope to see you Monday!
Truly,
Michelle Davidson and Savoy King

Care Package for Our Service Members

Dear B Co Families,

We have approximately 20 service members from our company (as well as a few who do not have their own FRG support) currently deployed to Afghanistan.  Deployed soldiers deeply appreciate knowing that their sacrifices matter to us, and that we care about them and want their time away from loved ones and the comfort of America to be as pleasant as possible. 
Will you help?  :)

Our FRG would love to show support to them by sending packages filled with notes or children's pictures of thanks, snacks, games, puzzle books, magazines, other literature (check prohibited list to make sure what you are sending is allowed), toiletries that smell good (such as travel size Bath and Body works), etc.. We have male and female service members who will be receiving these packages.

Let's "spoil" these paratroopers who have answered the call of duty and would selflessly give their lives for any one of us and for their fellow service members.  Please do not feel that you must spend a lot of money on this.  If each person gives just a little, we will have more than enough!

Donations can be dropped off at the company through Monday, August 6. 
Below is a list of items that are not allowed.

Thank you so much for everything you do!  It takes courage and strength to live this military lifestyle.  It is also an honor.

Very respectfully,
Michelle Davidson and Savoy King



Prohibited Items:
A. Securities, currency, or precious metals in their raw, unmanufactured
state are prohibited. Official shipments are exempt from this restriction.
A1. Mail addressed to 'Any Servicemember' or similar wording such as 'Any
Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine', 'Military Mail', etc., is prohibited.
Mail must be addressed to an individual or job title, such as 'Commander',
'Commanding Officer', etc.
A2. APO/FPO/DPO addresses shall not include a city and/or country name.
B. Regardless of mail class, a customs declaration form is required for all
items weighing 16 ounces or more, or any item (regardless of weight)
containing potentially dutiable mail contents (e.g., merchandise) addressed
to an APO, FPO, or DPO ZIP Code. PS Form 2976 is required for items weighing
less than 16 ounces, and PS Form 2976-A is required for items weighing 16
ounces or more. No customs form is required for items weighing less than 16
ounces when the contents are not potentially dutiable (e.g., documents).
When the surface area of the address side of the mailpiece is not large
enough to contain a PS Form 2976-A, the smaller PS Form 2976 may be
substituted (e.g., the Priority Mail small flat-rate box). The following
exceptions apply:
a. Known mailers are exempt from providing customs documentation on
non-dutiable letters or printed matter. (A known mailer is a business mailer
who enters volume mailings through a business mail entry unit (BMEU) or
other bulk mail acceptance location, pays postage through an advance deposit
account, uses a permit imprint for postage payment, and submits a completed
postage statement at the time of entry that certifies that the mailpieces
contain no dangerous materials that are prohibited by postal regulations.)
b. All federal, state, and local government agencies whose mailings are
regarded as 'Official Mail' are exempt from providing customs documentation
on any item addressed to an APO, FPO, or DPO except for those APOs/FPOs/DPOs
to which restriction 'B2' applies.
c. Prepaid mail from military contractors is exempt, providing the mailpiece
is endorsed 'Contents for Official Use - Exempt from Customs Requirements.'
C1. Obscene articles, prints, paintings, cards, films, videotapes, etc., and
horror comics and matrices are prohibited.
E2. Any matter depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual
items, or nonauthorized political materials is prohibited. Although
religious materials contrary to Islamic faith are prohibited in bulk
quantities, items for personal use of addressee are permissible.
F. Firearms of any type are prohibited in all classes of mail. See
definitions of firearms in DMM 601.12.1.1. This restriction does not apply
to firearms mailed to or by official U.S. government agencies. The
restriction for mail to this ZIP Code does not apply to firearms mailed from
this ZIP Code, provided ATF and USPS regulations are met. Antique firearms
are a separate category defined in DMM 601.12.1.1.h and ATF regulations;
they do not require an ATF form.
H1. Pork or pork by-products are prohibited.
M. Fruits, vegetables, animals, and living plants are prohibited.
R. All alcoholic beverages, including those mailable under DMM 601.12.7, are
prohibited.
V. Express Mail Military Service (EMMS) not available.