Cover from the McMurdo Station!

Today I got a cool cover from the McMurdo Station! The station is a US Antarctic research center located on Ross Island in Antarctica. It is the largest station on the continent, with a maximum population of over 1,200 people. It is also the main US station and is operated under the United States Antarctic Program. It has over 100 buildings, three air fields, a harbour, and even an ATM. Supplies are brought in during Operation Deep Freeze through the use of vessels of the US Military Sealift Command.

Cover from the USA!

Today I got a cool cover from the USA! The cover was sent from the remote atoll of Diego Garcia, which is located south of the equator in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The atoll is officially under the British Indian Ocean Territory but the US Navy operates its Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia base on the atoll. The base is a ship, aircraft, and submarine support base and is used for a variety of strategic purposes, including space and satellite tracking and the prepositioning of supplies. It was originally built to counter Soviet influence in the region but it now protects shipping lanes for oil and supports operations in the Middle East and surrounding regions.

Cover from the USA!

Today I got a nice cover from the USA! The cover was sent from aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The USS Abraham Lincoln is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the United States Navy and is part of the US Atlantic Fleet. Its home port is at Norfolk, Virginia and it is currently undergoing refuelling and overhauling. Its motto is "Shall Not Perish" and it can carry up to 90 aircraft. It was built by Newport News Shipbuilding for almost $5 billion. The ship was commissioned on November 11, 1989.

Cover from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station!

Today I got a great cover from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station! The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is an American research station in the Geographic South Pole, which is the southernmost place on Earth. It is the only inhabited place on Earth that experiences a 6 month long "day" (when the sun is up) and a 6 month long "night" (when the sun is down). Its peak population is 200 people during the summer period. A nice cancel featuring the station was used on an interesting stamp. The stamp says "2013 International Local Post" and South Pole Antarctica. It has a printed value of 53, but I am not sure what currency it is in. I have yet to find more details on it. Thanks Scott! 

Cover from the USA!

Today I got an interesting cover from the USA! The cover was mistakenly sent to the USS George Washington. It is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. It is currently conducting relief operations in the Philippines for the victims of Supertyphoon Haiyan. The cover must've been mistakenly put together with some relief goods, which is why it got sent to the carrier.

Cover from the USA!

Today I found an old cover I had from 2011! The cover was sent from California early December 2011 and it arrived on December 20, 2011. It is interesting because this was sent to me while I was using a US DPO address (Diplomatic Post Office). A DPO address counts as a domestic US address and is therefore subject to domestic postal rates for mail sent from the US, much like APO (Army Post Office) and FPO (Fleet Post Office) addresses. These are typically used for locations located outside of the USA, such as diplomatic missions abroad and military bases. DPO/APO/FPO count as a "city"in the address while AP (Armed Forces Pacific), AE (Armed Forces Europe), and AA (Armed Forces of the Americas) count as the State. The postmark in front shows "US Navy" and "FPO AP 96515". The one on the back shows "U.S. Mail" and "DPO AP 96515". 96515 corresponds to the zip code for the US Embassy, Manila.

Postcard from the USA!

Today I got a great card from the United States Army Garrison in Hohenfels, Germany! It was sent via the Army Post Office of the USA. What a cool card! Thanks Evelyne!