Postal service officials are reminding military families and friends sending holiday packages and letters to service men and women overseas, including Iraq and Afghanistan, that the deadline for the most economical shipping option is less than two weeks away.

Monday, November 13 is the deadline for sending holiday packages to troops stationed overseas using Parcel Post to all Air/Army Post Office )APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) ZIP codes.

The U.S. Postal Service is encouraging early deadlines to make sure that packages reach their destination in time for the holidays. There are more than 80 military installations worldwide.

"Mail is one of the greatest morale boosters we can give our troops during the holidays," said Postmaster General John E. Potter. "When they see that package or letter waiting for them on their bunk or hear their name at mail call, it brings them that much closer to family and the comforts of home."

This holiday season, the Postal Service is able to make Delivery Confirmation available for almost all APO/ FPO destinations. Delivery confirmation provides customers with the date, ZIP code and time the package was delivered. This information can be accessed online at USPS.com.

The U.S. Postal Service introduced a Military Care Kit, of "Mili-Kit" in 2004 to make it easier for military families and friends to send care packages to their loved ones stationed overseas. Since the inception of the Military Care Kit, the U.S. Postal Service has shipped more than 150,000 kits. Each kit contains four Priority Mail boxes, six Priority Mail flat rate boxes, 10 Priority Mail labels, one roll of Priority Mail tape and 10 customs forms with envelopes.

This kit may be ordered by calling USPS Expedited Package Supply Center at 1-800-610-8734. There is no charge for the kit. The Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes included in the kit can be shipped to any APO/FPO in the world, regardless of weight, for $8.10.

All packages and mail must be addressed to individual service members, as required by U.S. Department of Defense regulations.

All military units are assigned an APO or FPO ZIP code and, in many cases, that ZIP Code ravels with the unit. The Postal Service places APO/ FPO mail on special charter flights, commercial airlines, and military aircraft to reach armed services members overseas as quickly as possible.

For more information on tracking and military mail, please visit the Military Postal Service website at http://hqdainet.army.mil/mpsa/.