A Connecticut nonprofit has spent months preparing nearly 2,000 care packages filled with toiletries, snacks and handwritten cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas. Volunteers gathered at a local high school in mid-November to wrap everything in Christmas paper before shipping 1,139 boxes to service members in more than a dozen countries.
Then 884 of them returned.
The packages were returned with the word “toiletries” circled in red ink on the customs form. No phone call. No detailed explanation. No chance to fix the problem before the holiday shipping window closes (1). Making matters more confusing: about 300 boxes with identical labeling reached their destinations without problems (2).
“We’ve been sending packages for a good ten years and we’ve never had a problem,” Kristen Gauvin, president of Boxes to Boots, told WTNH. “We did our due diligence researching proper coding this year and hit a roadblock and got no answers” (3).
The organization had already spent over $10,000 in shipping costs.
After the story gained national attention and the intervention of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the USPS reversed course. The postal service picked up the returned boxes with new customs declarations and agreed to resend them without charging additional postage (4).
“I wrote. I called. And I made a problem,” Blumenthal told NBC Connecticut (5).
The USPS acknowledged the problem, but placed the blame on the labeling. “Dispatch forms were not completed correctly in accordance with current regulations – the lack of detail as to what was sent in the parcels – which led to this delay,” said a spokesman (6).
Packages are now expected to arrive in time for the holidays. But the situation is not completely resolved: about 150 packages remain missing, and some boxes marked for the Connecticut National Guard are still awaiting shipment (7).
What happened to Boxes to Boots is not an isolated incident. It reflects a broader change in how the USPS handles international shipping — including packages sent to overseas military addresses.
Operation Shoebox, a Florida nonprofit that also sends care packages to deployed troops, flagged the problem in September. “The USPS has begun to strictly enforce long-standing international customs rules on military and diplomatic mail,” the organization wrote. “These rules were always on the books, but buried in postal regulations, rarely enforced and rarely communicated. Even postal officials could not clearly explain why shipments were suddenly being rejected” (8).
The trigger appears to be a change to the rules from 1 September 2025, which requires all international commercial shipments to include a six-digit Harmonized System (HS) code on customs declarations (9). The HS code system, developed by the World Customs Organization, enables customs authorities around the world to classify goods and assess tariffs.
The practical impact is significant: vague descriptions that worked for years no longer pass muster. According to USPS guidelines, customs forms now require descriptions that state “what the item is, what it is made of, and what its purpose is” (10). Writing “toiletries” or “gifts” is not specific enough. You have to say “men’s deodorant” or “chocolate chip cookies”.
If your descriptions do not meet these standards, your package may be rejected, returned, or even destroyed by customs officials in the destination country (11).
Here’s where it gets confusing for people posting to troops. APO, FPO and DPO (Military Postal Designations) addresses are treated as domestic addresses for postal pricing. A first class stamp can get a letter to a service member anywhere in the world. But according to USPS guidelines, customs forms are still required for most packages sent to military addresses overseas (12).
So you pay domestic rates but face international document requirements.
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Blumenthal says the Boxes to Boots situation is not an isolated incident. He is now aware of similar issues affecting individuals and groups across the country who have had their care packages returned (13).
His proposed solution: legislation that would treat packages destined for U.S. military personnel stationed abroad as domestic mail, eliminating customs form requirements altogether.
“There should be no additional burdens,” Blumenthal said. “There is no excuse for what happened here with Boxes to Boots and I hope that their advocacy will have a national effect and solve this problem in the future” (14).
Operation Shoebox also called for congressional action and launched a petition asking lawmakers to clarify how military mail should be classified (15).
The legislation hasn’t passed yet, meaning the current rules remain in place for anyone sending troops this holiday season.
If you’re sending a package to a service member overseas, here’s how to avoid the fate that befell those 884 boxes:
Be relentlessly specific about customs forms. It doesn’t say “snacks” — it says “salted peanuts, 8 oz bag” and “milk chocolate candy bar.” It doesn’t say “toiletries” — it says “disposable men’s razor, pack of 4” and “sunscreen lotion SPF 30, 3 oz tube.” Each item needs its own detailed description.
Use USPS digital tools. When you create labels through Click-N-Ship or online customs forms, the system can help you identify the correct HS codes based on your descriptions (16). This reduces the chance of rejection. Order free military supplies. The USPS offers a military care kit that contains priority mail flat rate boxes, address labels, tape, and envelopes with customs forms. You can order one at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-610-8734 (17).
Know your deadlines. Military mail usually takes 7-15 days, depending on service level and destination. Priority Mail Express offers the fastest delivery in 3-7 days.
Double check the address formatting. Use the APO/FPO/DPO designation with the correct military state code (AA for the Americas, AE for Europe and the Middle East, AP for the Pacific). Never include the actual name of the foreign country – which may route your package through the host nation’s postal system instead of the military mail network.
The Boxes to Boots situation raises a fundamental issue that Blumenthal’s legislation seeks to address: Should Americans who send care packages to US troops stationed on US military bases have to go through international customs requirements?
For now, I do. And until the rules change, the onus is on shippers to get the paperwork just right. It’s something that even a decade-old nonprofit organization has tripped up.
Anyone wishing to support Boxes to Boots can donate at boxestoboots.org. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) charity, and according to its website, 100% of donations go directly to creating and delivering care packages to troops overseas (18).
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CT Insider (1); NBC Connecticut (2); WTNH (3); NBC Connecticut (4); NBC Connecticut (5); NBC Connecticut (6); NBC Connecticut (7); Operation Shoebox (8); Supply Chain Dive (9); USPS (10); USPS (11); USPS (12); NBC Connecticut (13); NBC Connecticut (14); Operation Shoebox (15); USPS (16); USPS (17); Boot boxes (18)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. Offered without warranty of any kind.
