Forces Free Aerogramme Letter (FFAL) - MOD Form 674 [Colloquialism ‘Bluey’] Service.
 

Entitlement.  There is a FFAL - ‘Bluey’ service available to/from all deployed HM Forces that have been granted the Operational Welfare Package (OWP).  Normally Blueys can only be sent free to UK including Northern Ireland (NI) and overseas BFPO addressees.  Special arrangements apply to mail for civil addresses in NI, which are covered below.  In addition, special arrangements have been made to enable free Blueys to be posted to German civilian (hiring) addresses for this operation, which are also covered below.  However, for all other destinations the correct postage must be applied.

Make-up.  Postage is not required on free Blueys, however they must be annotated ‘OP TELIC’ in the top left corner of the front cover.  Blueys are an Aerogramme service and enclosures such as photographs are not permitted.

Distribution.  Blueys are available from all civilian Post Offices in UK, BFPOs, Defence Mail Centres, Unit Families/Welfare Offices and Hives.  Units deploying to the Middle East should collect a supply from the nearest BFPO on arrival. 

Special Arrangements for Blueys to Civil Addresses in NI.  Due to the security situation in NI it is necessary to implement special arrangements for mail sent to civilian addresses in order to conceal the origin of items from an MOD/HM Forces source.  Individuals may send Blueys, or ordinary letters up to a maximum of 60g in lieu, free of charge.  The items are to be handed-in separately (from normal mails) at the operational BFPO and special arrangements will be implemented for their onward transmission.

Special Arrangements for Blueys to Civilian (Hiring) Addresses in Germany.  Special arrangements have been made to enable HM Forces on Op TELIC with families residing at civilian (hiring) addresses in Germany, to send Blueys to their Next of Kin (NOK).  The Blueys are to be handed-in separately (from normal mails) at the operational BFPO.  The Blueys will be forwarded to BFPO 40 and special arrangements will be implemented for their onward transmission.

Customs Forms.  All items posted via BFPOs to and from theatre are to comply with HM Customs and Excise and overseas foreign national Customs regulations.  It is an offence to send prohibited items through the post.  UK civilian Post Offices and BFPOs can provide a list of prohibited and restricted items for the various countries involved. 

In general, the following items are not permitted:

b.

It is particularly important that such items are not included in mail to Islamic countries.  This includes photographs, prints and adverts of nude, or partly nude females, even though these would normally be acceptable in UK newspapers and magazines.

OP TELIC - BFPO Numbers (Including BFPO Ships).  For the BFPO numbers listed at the bottom of this page, air letters and cards (including small packets and printed papers up to a maximum weight of 2 Kg) can be accepted at the HM Forces European Tariff.  There is no Parcel Service at this time - (exception - BFPO 598 also serves Op RESINATE NORTH).

Electronic Aerogramme Service – (e-bluey).  The e-bluey is a system which allows the relatives and friends of Service personnel to maintain a personal and private contact with them whilst they are serving on operations or exercises (more than 60 days duration).  The e-bluey allows users with access to a PC linked to the Internet, to compose an item and use the e-bluey program to transmit it.  An e-bluey will reach its destination within 12 to 36 hours (this depends on the operational situation).

The e-bluey combines speed through a specially tailored application provided by Superletter.com.Inc and privacy via an integrated mail printer.  This prints, folds and seals all e-blueys without anyone but the sender and receiver seeing the content.  It is then delivered First Class in the UK, or through the BFPO system overseas.

On rare occasions, letters cannot be downloaded in the theatre of operation they are destined for, usually due to the operational situation.  In this case they are downloaded and printed in BFPO London then forwarded by Airmail.  Using the e-bluey address book, flowers for delivery to GB and NI addresses and personalised greetings cards to anywhere in the world, can be ordered.

Registration can be completed at the BFPO Website: www.bfpo.org.uk by clicking on the e-bluey link at the top of the page, selecting "New e-bluey Member" and following the on-screen prompts.  A list of operational locations that can receive e-blueys can also be found within the e-bluey  site after registration, numbers for static FPOs can be found via the BFPO homepage.

Bulletin Board.  An electronic Bulletin Board has been established for Op TELIC to allow anyone (with access to the Internet) to post good luck messages for HM Forces via the BFPO Website - www.bfpo.org.uk by clicking on “Bulletin Board” icon.  The messages are moderated for content before they are posted on the website.  In addition to online viewing, authorised BFPOs are able (on a regular basis) to download the messages, prior to printing and circulation to formation HQs.

Electronic Newspapers.  Are available to selected locations.  The service consists of three abridged newspapers, ready for download at 0900 GMT daily.  The Electronic Newspapers are downloaded onto disk and hard copy, then circulated to formation HQs.

Further Information.  Further detailed information concerning Postal Services to OP TELIC can be obtained from the following sources:

Local BFPOs

Local Postal and Courier Sqns RLC

In the UK, Defence Mail Centres (DMCs)

BFPO website – www.bfpo.org.uk

BFPO Customer Care Unit (CCU).  New technology enables the CCU to deal with customer enquiries expediently and efficiently.