Want a real letter to be delivered to your Marine within 24 hours? The Marine Corps now has the Motivational Mail program, or MotoMail. This mail system enables families and friends of Marines deployed to Iraq to send free messages via a system that delivers each message like a regular letter.

The sender simply uses the MotoMail Web site to type a message or takes a handwritten letter to a scanning location (available at most Stateside Marine Corps bases). The letter is sent to the MotoMail server, and the designated USMC post office in Iraq downloads the letter to a special machine that prints, folds and seals the letter. The machine ensures complete privacy and makes it possible to deliver  mail to Marines in Iraq in usually 24 hours or less. The sender can track the letter to identify when it was submitted, downloaded and  printed.

"The MotoMail system is based on the British Armed Forces system called E-Bluey that has been used to send free messages to [military]  personnel stationed at locations around the world for the last five years," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Don McCarty Jr., headquarters,  U.S. Marine Corps postal affairs officer.

To use MotoMail, visit the MotoMail Web site and create a user account. Once you have created an account, the rest of the process is like writing an e-mail. You use several pull-down menus to find the unit address, then enter your Marine's rank and full name. When you have completed the letter, you click "submit" and the message is sent on its way to Iraq.

<>MotoMail is not designed to be used to send letters of encouragement or support from the general public. This process is not intended to replace U.S. mail, as attachments, enclosures or packages cannot be sent.


— MotoMail and Marine Corps Community Services