Max 5

New information...We did some investigation and it seems as though the initial sort is done at the US post office in Montgomery and they are the ones who hold and send back the mail...at least this is what we were told. So whatever instructions were at the PO were incorrect. I am wondering if something changed this year and if this was a problem in past years to the degree it seems to be this year.
 
I just received our first letter from our cadet yesterday...he had received my letters to him on TD5. We addressed all letters FTU2 ,MAX 5, FLT Delta. I'm feeling so bad for all those cadets not receiving mail...I think we all know how those tiny "hugs" from home give them a small bit of comfort in the chaos! I talked to one of my son's friends who returned from Max 4, he said they had the same mail problems while he was there...his parents letters to him were all returned. My cadet sounded very upbeat and still had a sense of humor!
 
Good grief! These are the people training future 01s and they can't clearly communicate how to send letters to their charges?
 
If I am right, this may not be Maxwell's issue, but the USPS in Montgomery. After 9/11 they changed the system.
~ Prior to 9/11 the mail would be addressed to Maxwell AFB. They had a post office on base with their own zipcode. All bases operated this way. After 9/11 all bases were incorporated into the town's USPS office, and they screened/sorted it there. This was done for the safety of every military member and their family by removing the base from the address.
~ Mail on base is not delivered directly to the base and sorted there. It is actually delivered to each building via the ever popular white mail truck.
~~ Yes, their is sorted at the building for each cadet, but it first has to make it on base.

The AF has been doing this(SFT) for years, and it basically is a template/boiler plate paper that they pop into the computer and replace last years date, and POC's name with this years. They are not reinventing the wheel. However, with every year there are new employees and maybe that is where the confusion started. I.E. somebody didn't get the memo in the sorting mail chain.
~~ It is also a reason why some are getting the mail and others aren't.

Hence, why I say I think when you place into the equation both of these aspects you may agree with me.
 
I think you are right Pima. When we contacted our DD's Detachment and spoke with the commander there, he did some digging and found that indeed the initial sort was done at the USPS. I recommend to everyone reading this who has had a problem to contact your child's detachment and file a complaint so perhaps something can be done differently next year so the cadets can be sure to get all their mail.
 
My boyfriend is also in max 5 and I have not heard from him yet. His parents and I have also been in contact and they haven't heard anything either. He originally told me to put FTU5 but right before he got his phone taken away he said FTU2. I also heard from another Cadet, from an earlier max, it shouldn't matter what number you put. It should all go to the same place.
I sure hope it does! I'm sure they have a ton of mail to sort through during this time. Hope this helps!
My son is at Max 5 and I haven't received anything from him. We had the wrong address as well and letters were returned. I sent a few with the correct address but was probably too late for him to get them. I've been texting him so when he gets his phone back he'll know why he didn't get letters
 
Oh....I feel so bad for you. It's not the cadets fault. They did not give wrong addresses; there was a disconnect between Maxwell and the US post office in Montgomery. I resent, in a big envelope, all the letters that were returned in their original envelops as did other families. That way she could see we attempted to send them and they were returned. I was just very fortunate to see this thread and got some advice and resent the letters. I just know this was not an isolated event. Many cadets did not receive letters. This apparantly happened with all the Maxs. The cadets talk and I am sure word got around that mail was being returned and the cadets will know that their families did try to get letters through. Please let your cadet's detachment know because this HAS to change for next year.
 
Oh....I feel so bad for you. It's not the cadets fault. They did not give wrong addresses; there was a disconnect between Maxwell and the US post office in Montgomery. I resent, in a big envelope, all the letters that were returned in their original envelops as did other families. That way she could see we attempted to send them and they were returned. I was just very fortunate to see this thread and got some advice and resent the letters. I just know this was not an isolated event. Many cadets did not receive letters. This apparantly happened with all the Maxs. The cadets talk and I am sure word got around that mail was being returned and the cadets will know that their families did try to get letters through. Please let your cadet's detachment know because this HAS to change for next year.
Thank you. I just found this site today. I sent new letters with correct address so maybe he got them....... I put the returned mail on his bed so he can read them tomorrow
 
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