NOT ANOTHER HOLIDAY POUCH ALDAC ALREADY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 108174 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ATRN AMGT APER KSEP SUBJECT: NOT ANOTHER HOLIDAY POUCH ALDAC ALREADY STATE 00108174 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. Summary. It's that time of year again for your A/LM/PMP/DPM diplomatic pouch team to send their annual holiday ALDAC. So, what better way to continue this tradition by starting off with a joke? Knock knock Who's there? Holly Holly who? Holly-days are here again!!! Now that the stage has been set, we warn our readers that this ALDAC contains more of the same humor, but also includes some very useful information, which will hopefully help us all over the river and through the woods to a happy holiday season. End Summary. ¶2. SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. And here's why October-January is the busiest time of year for your pouch and APO/FPO/DPO mail channels. During this period, large volumes of holiday mail and end of year procurement material are being received for onward processing. This time of year is also a very busy travel period for airlines, which means airplanes are often filled with passenger baggage. Unfortunately, airline load priorities are: passenger baggage, mail, and then pouches. We sometimes experience pouch and mail delays because of this. If your post is experiencing delays please contact us via email at DPM-Answerperson@state.gov for pouches, and DPO-Answerperson@state.gov for APO/FPO/DPO. We will do our best to get things moving. Please keep in mind, pouch items must be received at our unclassified pouch facility (SA32) by November 23 to make it under your tree by December 25. For APO/FPO/DPO Refer to http://pouch.a.state.gov/Content/documents/20 09HolidayMa ilingDates.pdf for USPS APO/FPO/DPO mailing deadlines. ¶3. WE'RE MAKING A LIST Checking it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty or nice. And you should too! Santa's new $100K pair of x- ray glasses is all a buzz, he now sees everything that travels through the North Pole-32. He knows who's been naughty and who has been nice so, so please use the resources provided on the DPM webpage to familiarize yourself with unclassified pouch limits, restrictions and especially prohibitions. No, we can not ship lithium ion batteries in a manner that violates International Air Transportation Association shipping policy, nor can we send that full size pool table via pouch, or even a pool cue for that matter if it won't fit in our largest pouch bag. And, although we'd like to send that adorable St. Bernard puppy on to post, animals are strictly prohibited in the pouch. We really get jumpy when we receive game controllers that look like guns, paint ball guns, and kitchen knives, etc. because Santa's new glasses are very precise. Don't even try to send those radish seeds through the pouch either, which raises another age-old question?Why does Santa have 3 gardens? So he can ho..ho..ho. Please remember to visit the DPM website at http://pouch.a.state.gov/content.asp?content_ id=176&menu _id=92 to check the post-specific pouch restrictions, and check out our new prohibited items poster at: http://pouch.a.state.gov/Content/documents/DP M%20Prohibi ted%20Items%20Poster.pdf and the prohibited pouch items list in 14 FAM Exhibit 732.2 or our website at: http://pouch.a.state.gov/content.asp?content_ id=177&menu _id=104 ¶4. AT THIS POINT, THE OBVIOUS QUESTION IS "Why does Scrooge love Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?" The answer is because every buck is dear to him. And every buck is dear to DPM too. To ensure the sleigh loads don't over-burden the reindeer, Santa will continue to closely monitor bulk shipments. If you're exceeding weight limits or your gifts can not fit in Santa's pouch bags they will be held for fiscal data in our bulk area igloo. We continue to receive large amounts of personal and official bulk shipments at SA32. Some recent examples include massive quantities of styrofoam cups, office STATE 00108174 002.2 OF 003 chairs, paper towels, paper toilet seat covers, pallets of flattened cardboard boxes, picnic tables and yes, large quantities of personal effects, which are specifically prohibited per 14 FAM 723.2(s) and 14 FAM 742.2.3. Before you send that truck load of boughs of holly to SA32, be sure you are willing to pay up to $20 per kilo in transportation costs. We've published new unclassified pouch size and weight limits in 14 FAM 723.3. A bulk shipment is either a combined piece volume of 6 cubic feet (cuft) or more, or a total weight of 250 pounds or more, no matter what the cuft, per pouch dispatch that is destined to the same addressee. This limit allows simultaneous shipment of about five 8 + x11 inch copy paper boxes, which totals just under 6 cuft. Remember, this limit applies to both personal and official unclassified pouch shipments. And, all personal shipments must fit into a pouch bag. Remember, bulk items almost always should be sent via the appropriate U.S. Despatch Agency. Doing this will save everyone money and time. A pouch transportation cost estimating tool and U.S. Despatch Agency shipping instructions can be found on the DPM website at http://pouch.a.state.gov/content.asp?content_ id=182&menu _id=92 And speaking of pouch bags, as usual the volume of presents is expected to exceed the pouch bag demand. So be a deer, help Santa help you and get those pouch bags back to North Pole-32. ¶5. TIME FOR ANOTHER KNOCK KNOCK Who's there? Boo. Boo who? Why are we crying? Because our SA32 pouch facility continues to receive NIV Forms that should be sent directly to the Kentucky Consular Center. Please refer to 14 FAH-4 H-224 for instructions on how to ship NIV forms to the KCC. It's important to remember KCC pouch shipments can not be combined with any other pouch shipment and must be shipped on a separate airline airway bill. ¶6. WHAT DO ELVES LEARN IN SCHOOL? The Elf-abet, like in APO/FPO/DPO. Here's a quick update. As many of you know we seamlessly transitioned non-DoD APO/FPO mail transportation billing from DoD to DoS October 1, 2007. The bills will are paid at each agency's HQ level via ICASS. Posts are not affected. Posts will continue to be responsible for any local charges they are now paying. Our DPO sleigh team has heard from many of you and continues to identify ICASS workload inconsistencies to make sure the final transfer of managerial responsibility of all the non-DoD APO/FPO's from DoD to DoS is set up to ensure 100% reimbursement from all who benefit. We successfully partnered with DoD, USPS, ICASS Service Center, Regional Bureaus and many of the posts to ensure State 109091 was the Department's best course for conversion, and to assure this change is accomplished efficiently. Our most important goal is to assure posts maintain current or improved mail service levels. For more information, please contact the DPO-Answerperson@state.gov. Speaking of mail, what do you call a letter sent up a chimney on Christmas Eve? Black mail,of course. ¶7. TO WRAP UP What did the Gingerbread Man put on his bed? A cookie sheet, and since we're wrapping things up, please remember that any gifts that need to be opened during screening that are wrapped will not be rewrapped by our elves at North Pole-32. They'll be too busy loading last minute sleighs. Santa wants to make sure everything that needs to be gets on the sleighs and wants to remind you that there are restrictions on shipping lithium batteries. In general, common batteries that are purchased to power toys or small electronics (AAA, AA, C and D sizes) are most often Alkaline based and are not subject to the battery restriction requirements noted in State 02986 on lithium batteries. The batteries that are a concern are the lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries that power watches, calculators, cameras, etc and the rechargeable form of the lithium battery (lithium-ion or Li-ion) that can be found in mobile telephones, IPods, laptop computers, etc. For detailed information on the type of lithium batteries prohibited and on shipping guidance directly from IATA, visit: http://www.iata.org/NR/rdonlyres/480246B4-C9A 3-4E19- AA94-38AE5472DDF4/0/GuidanceDocumentonthetran sportofLiBatt_20 STATE 00108174 003.2 OF 003 09V21.pdf ¶8. AND JUST ONE MORE IN CLOSING What do you call a bunch of grandmasters of chess bragging about their games in a hotel lobby? Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer. The entire A/LM/PMP/DPM team wishes everyone a safe and joyous holiday season. CLINTON