[Dx-qsl] IRC's in the US

Tue May 7 20:22:07 2002

If you want to stir up a hornet's nest ask someone at your local Post
Office for a zip code to use to mail a letter to any U.S. Embassy
overseas. Most, if not all, U.S. Embassies have a mail room operated by
USAF personnel. At some locations (like Manila) they don't wear uniforms,
but are still USAF personnel. The U.S. Embassies use the APO, military
style, addresses. The zip codes are needed to properly effect delivery to
the proper embassy or military base that it needs to go to. You would
think that all you would need to do is to ask any postal clerk to help you
find the proper zip code, let's say, for the U.S. Embassy in London,
England, and they could use the zip code directory and find it for you. 
Not so in my case. I tried two local P.O. and the Main P.O. in my city. I
got all kinds of excuses, such as they don't use the APO system (not true),
that they are not published (why not), or that they are not supposed to be
used by the general public (why not?). I even tried the USPO web site with
no luck. I posted my question via email on their web site and the reply
was that they were not available (why not?). I did an internet search and
found a list of all the military APO style addresses for all the U.S.
Embassies around the world. Where, on some government web site? No, on an
immigration attorney's web site. I used the Military style APO (AE)
address from his web site and received a reply to my question via the U.S.
Mail system with the return address on the envelope the same APO address I
had used to send my letter. Why couldn't someone at the USPO service find
a list of APO address for U.S. Embassies? I knew how the system worked as
in my world travels for 25 years as a crew member on USCG C-130's I dealt a
lot with U.S. Embassies mail rooms.
Having said that, I do wish to add that other than this mass confusion of
how to address a letter to a U.S. Embassy, my local P.O. and mail carrier
do an outstanding job.
And I hope the Royal Mail (or former Royal Mail I should say) has not made
good on their plan to fire or lay off up to 30,000 workers and to close
some rural or small neighborhood contract Post Offices as they had planned
to do during my visit to London last March. Our U.K. QSL Manager friends
need all the help they can get from their postal services, and it must be
nice to have the mail carrier visit you twice a day. Just think of it, a
U.K. QSL manager could receive your QSL request for that rare DX station he
manages in the morning, and have your card back to you when the mail
carrier makes his afternoon rounds. Well, I can dream, can't I.
Hats off to ALL the mail carriers and QSL Managers.
73 
Steven Wheatley KU9C wrote:
>> One thing I've learned is that the postal clerks have a way of interpreting
> rules, especially on things they don't deal with daily, like IRCs, in a
> fashion that can contradict with the manuals. As someone else stated, what
> is in the IMM is 'the rule'.....that's what the manual is for. It often
> takes some pushing with a clerk that does not deal with IRCs....but when you
> go to the post office, demand that they review the IMM......and ask why
> they're deviating from it, should you run into an answer that is different
> than what it says....it is also on line at the post office web site. I know
> this happens, as I often get guys personal experience via email that differ
> from what I've posted.
>> Bottom line....find someone in your post office that will learn the IRC
> process, and ONLY deal with him/her. It helps the training process, and
> saves a LOT of gray hair! I've done this with great success over the last
> almost 20 years of dealing with these darn things!
>> 73
> Steve
>> Please help QSL.NET . Send your donation now.
>> If you have already donated, thanks !

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