MAIL CALL

Some troops living and working in Baghdad have received mail from the continental United States in as few as five days. Boxes sent through the military parcel service from Germany have arrived in Baghdad in as little as three days. Stateside mail is getting to soldiers on an average between 11 and 15 days 85 percent of the time.

Last week, the military began flying tons of mail daily to northern Iraq through the international air express company DHL. Four to six pallets of mail are picked up at the central warehouse at Baghdad International and flown to troops in Mosul about twice a day.