Why Are "Several Food Pantries" Needed For Military Families?

Fast food workers want $15 an hour while soldiers go to food pantry? Does this make sense to anyone? The worst thing is, none of this is new.

Food pantries support those in need all year
Killeen Daily Herald
By Jennise Colin-Ventura
November 29, 2015

Many families struggle financially to provide food, shelter and expenses for their household, especially during the holidays. And of course, if you are trying to save up for a few gifts under the tree, your finances are pretty much drained.

There are several food pantries in the area to help you and your family.

Operation Phantom Support and the Sgt. Leevon Ritter Support your Troops Resale Center: 317 E. Avenue C, Killeen. Call 254-233-1441 or go to www.operationphantomsupport.com and www.facebook.com/OOIALFortHood.

Anyone in need can visit this pantry once a month at no charge. Plus, anyone with a military ID can pay $10 or more a month and visit the food pantry twice a week. The food pantry is open on Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All is needed is photo or military ID and basic household information. Food selection varies for each visit but you may get meat, eggs, canned and dry goods as well as fruits and vegetables. They also have a thrift shop inside so when you need clothes or furniture, you can shop there, especially when they have their “Fill A Bag” sale. They also offer a program called “Operation Phantom Cakes,” which offers free birthday cakes for children up to 18 years old. If you would like to donate cake mixes, frosting or money for this program and/or to the organization, call 254-233-1441.
read more here and find more places to turn to

None of this is new. This report is from 2013

Celebration of Love brings holiday cheer to Fort Hood

Fort Hood Sentinel “Some Soldiers may need a little extra help getting ready for the holiday season, so we try to provide something that would help out during this time,” said Michael Ashford, the president and executive director of Celebration of Love. “We provide the makings for a Christmas meal, which includes a turkey, a pie, four cans of green beans, four cans of corn, two boxes of mac and cheese, apple sauce, milk and rice.”

You can find a lot more reports from "Armed Forces Day Armed With Food Stamps" post on Wounded Times May 15, 2008. And this report is from 1994.

As Military Pay Slips Behind, Poverty Invades the Ranks
New York Times
By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: June 12, 1994

WASHINGTON, June 11— Like other airmen at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, 21-year-old Jason Edwards worries about tensions far away in North Korea that could erupt into fighting and involve his supply base.

But Airman Edwards has more immediate concerns, too. He is worried about how to feed his 22-year-old wife, Beth, and their two small children on his total pay and allowances of $1,330 a month. In desperation, the Edwardses last month began drawing $228 a month in food stamps to get by.

"It's a very tight squeeze for us," Mrs. Edwards said. "We haven't bought any steaks since we've been here, and whenever I want to cook something with ham, I substitute Spam for it."

In a trend that has senior Pentagon officials deeply troubled, an increasing number of military families are turning to food stamps to make ends meet. Three-quarters of America's enlisted forces earn less than $30,000 a year, and the gap between civilian and military wages is growing.

To be sure, no one ever joined the military to get rich. But neither did they expect to have to go on welfare. Military officials worry that a growing demand for food stamps and other Government assistance may signal larger personnel problems in a culture that preaches self-reliance and self-discipline.

The truth is we don't take care of them while they are in the military and we sure as hell don't take care of them when they come home. Just goes to show that no political side is really grateful for those willing to sacrifice their lives to retain the freedoms the rest of us enjoy, including demanding more money than they make!

Legionnaires Bacteria Found At Minneapolis VA

Minneapolis VA taking steps to clean water system of Legionnaires disease bacteria
Star Tribune
By Josephine Marcotty
NOVEMBER 27, 2015

No human illnesses have been discovered.

JIM MONE – ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP
Minneapolis VA officials said routine testing on Nov. 19 found the type of Legionella bacteria that causes most human illness.

The bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ Disease have been detected in water samples at the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center, and officials said they are taking steps to eliminate the pathogen.

No illnesses have been discovered.

VA officials said routine testing on Nov. 19 found the type of Legionella bacteria that cause most human illness in 5 out of 40 samples from the hospital’s water system. The hospital has since installed filters on taps and shower heads and is flushing the water system to eliminate the bacteria.

First identified in 1976 after an outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia, the Legionella bacterium causes 8,000 to 18,000 hospitalizations a year in the United States. Prompt treatment with antibiotics typically cures the infection.
read more here
Linked from Military.com

Memorial for Harold "Cutter" Perry

Today was a sad day because on November 14, 2015 shortly after the Veterans Day Parade in Orlando, Cutter was on his motorcycle on the way home and was killed.  He had a day doing what he loved with people he called family.  

Nov 28, 2015
On November 14, 2015, shortly after the Veterans Day parade in Orlando, Cutter was killed while riding his motorcycle. Today was the day we celebrated his life and said goodbye.

Soldier from Florida Among Dead After Blackhawk Crash

Fort Hood releases names of soldiers killed in Blackhawk crash
WFAA 8 ABC News
November 27, 2015

FORT HOOD — The names of the four Soldiers killed in a UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter crash on Nov. 23 have been released after next-of-kin notification. The crash occurred sometime after 5:49 p.m. in the northeast portion of the Fort Hood training area. All four crew members were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 291st Aviation Regiment, First Army Division West. The aircraft, assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment was on a routine training mission.

The Fallen Warriors are: 
Sgt. 1st Class Toby A. Childers, 40, a Hays, Kansas native
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen B. Cooley, 40, a Cantonment, Florida native
Sgt.1st Class Jason M. Smith, 35, a Destrehan, Louisiana native
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael F. Tharp, 40, a Katy, Texas native.
read more here


UPDATE report on each soldier. Fort Hood Crash Victims Were Veterans Of Wars In Afghanistan, Iraq

Sgt. 1st Class Toby A. Childers

(Enhanced photo courtesy of Fort Hood Visual Information Services)

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen B. Cooley

(Enhanced photo courtesy of Fort Hood Visual Information Services)

Sgt. 1st Class Jason M. Smith and his wife, Trisha M. Smith

(Photo courtesy of the Smith family)

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael F. Tharp

(Enhanced photo courtesy of Fort Hood Visual Information Services)

Joe Donnelly's "Care Package" Empty Box

This is really getting ridiculous! They keep committing suicide and members of Congress keep getting writers cramp. The latest is another bill by Senator Joe Donnelly called "Care Package" but it turns out it will be another empty box with a pretty wrapping paper.

Donnelly’s Military Mental Health Provisions Signed into Law with National Defense Bill Senator’s bipartisan efforts will improve quality of care and ease of access for servicemembers in ongoing push to address military suicide November 25, 2015
Donnelly said, “Seeing the ‘Care Package’ signed into law is another important step forward as we continue the fight to bring military suicide numbers down to zero. Getting these provisions implemented in communities across Indiana and throughout the country will improve the quality of mental health care provided to our servicemembers. It will expand their options, helping connect Hoosiers with local providers who are specially trained to deal with challenges unique to the military. It will also help our Department of Defense providers better recognize the signs of suicide risk in their patients and connect them with the resources and support they need. We owe it to our servicemembers and their families to help them get access to the best quality mental health care. Our work is far from done, and I will keep pushing to improve mental health care for our servicemembers, veterans, and their loved ones.”

Exactly what good has any of the other bills done? This is from Joe Donnelly's site.

"In the first half of 2015, DoD reported that more than 200 servicemembers took their own lives. Last year, 443 servicemembers took their own lives and in 2013 474 were lost to suicide, the Pentagon reported."

This may sound good until you consider the simple fact the number of servicemembers has dropped by the thousands. Plus add in the first attempts to reduce suicides happened back in 2007 when there were 99 suicides in the Army.

March 2012
Total - Worldwide
Total 1,409,877
Army 557,780
Navy 320,961
Marine Corps 198,427
Air Force 332,709

2013
Total 1,382,684
Army 532,043
Navy 324,308
Marine Corps 195,848
Air Force 330,485

By September 30, 2014 1,378,834
By September 20, 2015 1,353,762

Members of Congress have been more interested in writing bills than bothering to understand if anything has worked in the past. Repeating the same steps has produced devastation for servicemembers, their families and in the Veterans Community.
What does Joe Donnelly say about suicides now?

Blind Iraq War Veteran Needs Out of Trailer Home

Iraq War veteran and 970 WDAY host Eric Marts selected to receive home, but has trouble finding a spot to build it
WDAY News
By Kevin Wallevand
Nov 27, 2015

"I want to be close to Moorhead. My family is here and my whole support system is here and the VA is here which I have to frequent a lot," Marts said.

Moorhead (WDAY TV) - A Moorhead veteran who lost his sight after an IED blast while serving in Iraq is close to getting a special home to meet his needs thanks to a non-profit that helps vets. Homes For Our Troops selected Eric Marts as its latest recipient for a home, but because homes and land are so hard to come by in the Fargo-Moorhead area, the plan to move ahead has been on hold for months.

We followed Eric Marts to Washington DC recently during our Honor Flight special. The 970 WDAY radio host spends every weekend promoting veteran causes, but he rarely talks about his needs.

"A trailer house is all I have right now," Marts said.

His home now is anything but handy for a blind person.

"Not wide enough for Deacon and I to get through, too compacted and the kitchen is so small. I have to have everything laid out," Marts said.

The national charity Homes For Our Troops has built 200 homes nationwide for paralyzed, injured or blind soldiers like Eric.
read more here

Wheelchair Bound UK Veteran Left Homeless

War veteran Chris Lazzara homeless for Christmas after Army gave notice from Howe Barracks 
Kent Online
by Chris Pragnell
27 November 2015

A crippled war veteran is being ordered by top brass to clear out of Army digs just days before Christmas.

Former Private Chris Lazzara has been told to pack his bags – and slapped with a court summons for December 16.

Refusal could see Mr Lazzara, his wife and baby son turfed out of their house in Howe Barracks and left homeless over the festive period.

Mr Lazzara, who served his country in Afghanistan, said: “I feel like the Army has declared war on me."

“I feel really let down. I just can’t believe the timing of this. All we need is time to stay in the property while we acquire other accommodation.

“We’ve nowhere to go so I don’t know what we’re expected to do? I’m now trying to sort emergency accommodation through the council but we’ve no guarantees at all.”

Canterbury’s Howe Barracks site will eventually be bulldozed, but while most properties sit empty, some occupants are still in place.

Mr Lazzara, 32, is confined to a wheelchair following injuries he says he sustained during an Army exercise.

He says Army bosses are refusing compensation, claiming his injuries are the result of an earlier condition, and have launched eviction proceedings.

Having served with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Mr Lazzara was discharged on medical grounds in July this year.
read more here

After 10 Years of Service, Veteran with 3 Children Homeless

COURAGE: Army vet, 3 children join ranks of hotel homeless in Brockton 
Cynthia Cast knows this Thanksgiving will be different for the family because of the difficult situation, but she is thankful and grateful for the help she has received.
Enterprise News
By Marc Larocque Enterprise Staff Writer
Posted Nov. 26, 2015

Before that, Cast served in the Army for 10 years. She enlisted as a senior at Brockton High School, following in the footsteps of her father, who was a veteran. She was the first woman in her family who joined the military, she said.

BROCKTON – In the Holiday Inn Express overlooking Westgate Mall in Brockton, an Army veteran has been living with three young children. Cynthia Cast found herself without a home in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

Her apartment lease ended and she was financially unable to secure a new one. Cast joined the ranks of roughly 50,000 homeless veterans around the country. “It’s been very discouraging,” said Cast, 42, who is trying to use a veterans rental assistance program to find a new apartment. “And it’s definitely stressful. You don’t want to be in a hotel. You want your kids to live a normal life.”
read more here

HOMELESS VETERAN, BEATEN BY TEENS ON CAMERA DIED

HOMELESS VETERAN, BEATEN BY TEENS ON CAMERA IN OLNEY, DIES
WPVI TV News Philadelphia
November 27, 2015

OLNEY (WPVI) -- A homeless veteran, beaten at a gas station in the Olney section of Philadelphia nearly eight months ago, has died.

The incident at the Sunoco in the 5500 block of North 5th Street was captured by a surveillance camera on April 7th.

The video shows 51-year-old Robert Barnes being pummeled by teens with a hammer, a piece of wood and punches, after police say a 10-year-old boy told his mother he got into an argument with Barnes.

The attack left Barnes in a coma.
read more here

400 American Soldiers Brown Bag Lunch Replaced

Shlomo Rechnitz Pays for US Soldiers Meal in Shannon, Ireland
Man Buys Hot Meals for 400 American Troops
[VIDEO]
KHAK
By Courtlin
November 24, 2015

This story will warm your heart! An L.A. business man did quite the good deed when he spent $20,000 buying dinner for American soldiers at an airport in Ireland.

44-year-old Shlomo Rechnitz is the owner of Brius Healthcare Services, the largest nursing home provider in the state of California.

He was waiting for a flight at an Ireland airport, on his way to Israel with his family, where he came across 400 American soldiers eating dinner out of brown paper bags. He noticed that everyone around them was eating hot meals, and that just didn’t sit right with him. That’s when he approached their commanding officer and offered $50 to each soldier so that they could eat at any restaurant in the airport. read more here

Nov 17, 2015
An LA businessman named Shlomo Rechnitz paid $50 per meal for about 400 US solders in an airport in Shannon, Ireland. He saw them eating standard army food while all the other passengers in the terminal were eating in trendy and appetizing restaurants. Rechnitz then asked their commander if he can give them something extra. This is Rechnitz offering words of appreciation to the soldiers after the commander agreed.