Did you know that the United States Military has an internal postal system that is incredibly efficient? By combining USPS’s existing infrastructure and the preexisting network of military bases worldwide, the military has taken the guessing game out of how to send mail to deployed loved ones. In All Things “PO,” USPS & PO, I scratched the surface of government acronyms related to the USPS. In this next installment, I’ll dig in and bring structure to APO/FPO/DPO, AA/AE/AP, and essentially all military mail.
MPSA stands for Military Postal Service Agency.
In conjunction with the USPS, the DOD (Department of Defense) established the USA MPSA to serve as the Military extension of the USPS. The MPSA handles all USA military and diplomatic mail, domestic and abroad. The Army oversees the agency, and a joint military branch task force called JMPA (Joint Military Postal Activities) oversees the interbranch operations. Each branch manages operations within its department. The MPSA is subject to the USPS rules and federal and international laws.
Mail that travels through the MPSA is subject to domestic USPS rates. The DOD and the military branches cover the additional expenses of global operations within their departments. Postage can be procured through the USPS. While the service offerings are comparable to domestic USPS services, the time in transit will be longer.
Mail that travels through the MPSA to an MPO in a foreign country may be subject to that country’s Customs Duty. Therefore all packages that travel through the MPSA must have a computer-generated customs form affixed to the outside parcel. Letters are exempt from this requirement.
When addressing a letter or shipment destined for the MPSA system, the USPS structure of the Recipient’s Name, Street Address, City, State, Zip Code, and Country is used as a framework with a few specific substitutions. In the line for the Recipient, you will need to include a full name or a title. In the line for the Street Address, you will substitute a unit number and a PO box number. For City, you will substitute the appropriate MPO acronym. For State, you will substitute the right military state acronym. For Zip Code, you will need to use the unique Zip Code for the destination MPO. For the Country, you will keep the USA, even if your target MPO is abroad. Example: “SGT. JOHN SMITH, UNIT 2340 BOX 132, APO, AE 09350 USA”
MPO stands for Military Post Office.
MPOs are domestic and international POs serviced by the MPSA. There are three different MPOs: APO, FPO, and DPO.
APO stands for Army Post Office or Air Force Post Office.
If their name didn’t give it away, APO identifies all MPOs under the Army or Air Force departments.
FPO stands for Fleet Post Office.
FPO identifies all MPOs in the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard departments.
DPO stands for Diplomatic Post Office.
DPO is the name assigned to MPOs associated with a USA Embassy. Not all embassies are given their own DPO; most fall under the jurisdiction of an APO or FPO.
MPOs are assigned a “Military State” based on the region of the world the MPO is located in. There are three different Military States: AA, AE, and AP.
AA stands for Armed Forces Americas.
An MPO with the Military State of AA is in South America or North America, barring Canada.
AE stands for Armed Forces Europe.
AE is not limited to Armed Forces Europe but also services Armed Forces Canada, Armed Forces Africa, and Armed Forces Middle East. An MPO with the Military State of AE is in Canada, Europe, Africa, or the Middle East.
AP stands for Armed Forces Pacific.
An MPO with the Military State of AP is in Asia.
Every MPO is assigned a unique Zip Code. If shipping to a domestic MPO, use the MPSA-issued zip code and not the domestic zip code issued by the USPS.
EAF Logistics 
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