Holiday helpers have been busy this month, as plenty of organizations and individuals have been working to make the days a bit brighter for troops and their families who may be thousands of miles away from loved ones.
These separations happen because of deployments and a variety of factors related to the military lifestyle. For some families, rising consumer costs can also make it harder to buy their child a toy or put the long-anticipated traditional holiday meal on the table this holiday season.
Many military families are among those helpers, often stepping in to bring some holiday spirit to others in their community, whether it’s inviting single service members over for a meal or gathering other military families together. They often volunteer in various ways during the holidays to help others, too.
Here are just a few examples of holiday happenings in military communities around the world.
Holiday meals for the troops
Some 107,948 pounds of beef, 54,261 pounds of ham, 29,344 pounds of shrimp and 11, 648 containers of eggnog are included in holiday feasts sent to troops around the world, whether they’ll be eating in dining halls, aboard ships or in remote areas. The Defense Logistics Agency’s Troop Support command begins planning for the feast in the spring, receiving orders from commands and working with vendors to get the feast in the works. Other items include:
- 130,929 pounds of turkey, including whole and roasted turkeys
- 5,521 cans of sweet potatoes
- 42,934 pies and cakes
Holidays around the globe
Holiday parties have been offering up entertainment and goodies for military families in many locations.
The Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego mascot, Lance Cpl. Bruno, met up with the Grinch as part of the entertainment at the depot’s annual holiday family event, with crafts, music and more.
Santa visited with families of the 148th Fighter Wing at Minnesota Air National Guard gathered near an F-16 Fighting Falcon on Dec. 13 at a kids’ holiday party.
And the USO holiday tour brought actor and singer Charles Esten to Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, where he performed Dec. 12. Many of the more than 250 USO locations participate in holiday events for troops and families.
Meanwhile, giveaways and charity events help military families stretch their dollars. Various organizations have held toy drives for military families around the world, including the nonprofit Operation Homefront. Its annual toy drive is designed to relieve financial stress for junior and mid-grade enlisted families E-1 to E-6. Toys and holiday meal kits are distributed at various events. The toys are delivered by field staff and volunteers across the country and reach tens of thousands of military families each year.
The nonprofit Soldiers’ Angels’ Adopt-A-Family program has connected donors to “adopt” 1,893 military and veteran families as of Monday, including 5,219 children, to support them with presents and grocery gift cards. But there are still 343 families with a combined 1,106 children who are waiting to be adopted, according to Soldiers’ Angels spokeswoman Michelle Julazadeh Chavarin.
This season, Army Emergency Relief provided $100 military commissary gift cards to 900 Army families between Thanksgiving and Christmas at a number of installations in the U.S. and overseas. Some commissaries opened their doors early so the gift card recipients could shop early.
The Gary Sinise Foundation brought more than 700 military families of the fallen for the Snowball Express Healing Retreat from Dec. 7-11 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. More than 1,700 family members came from 90 cities around the country and overseas.
The Armed Services YMCA, which provides a number of programs and services for junior enlisted families around the holidays and throughout the year, partnered with Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Operation Ride Home to help junior enlisted and their families travel home for the holidays. Since the program’s inception in 2011, it’s helped more than 14,000 people travel home.
Many single service members aren’t able to go home for the holidays, and some communities make sure they’re not forgotten. For example, earlier this month, the spouses’ club at Travis Air Force Base, California, along with community partners, organized the assembly of over 850 gift jars to be delivered to airmen living in the dormitories in a mission dubbed Holiday Dorm Drop.
Through Soldiers’ Angels, 41,052 donated holiday stockings stuffed with various goodies are sent to deployed service members, hospitalized veterans and National Guard and Reserve members around the country.
Giving back
Many troops and family members also give back to their military community and local civilian community. This might be through the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program or various toy drives and other events.
Some are steeped in tradition and long-standing relationships. For example, senior leaders and staff from Eighth Army visited the children of Namsan-won Orphanage in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 13, continuing the tradition of delivering Christmas gifts to children in the orphanage’s care.
The orphanage was built by soldiers from Eighth Army and the Republic of Korea Army during the Korean War as a sanctuary for children of Korean soldiers and policemen who died during the war. The Eighth Army has continued to support the orphanage, which continues to house and care for 33 children.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
