Last year during the Holiday season, October through December, more than 580,000 pounds of mail were sent to U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia, and more than 1 million pounds were sent to U.S. forces throughout Southwest Asia. During that time period, I don't know of one instance where a Christmas item was taken. Martin said he was aware of three instances this season where Christmas items were taken. In these instances, the items confiscated were Christmas trees. This happened once in October, once in November, and once in December.
Most mail makes it to our deployed forces quickly, and without customs problems.
However, items of a religious nature for personal use only, may be brought with individuals when deploying. Items also subject to possible confiscation or censorship by host nation officials include videotapes, records, and certain publications printed outside of the host nation. For more information on postal restrictions, contact your local U.S. post office with the zip code of where packages are being shipped.