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Members of Congress who have served in the military joined Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit dedicated to forging bonds between Americans and the U.S. military, on Tuesday to help assemble care packages for deployed service members during Military Appreciation Month.
Nearly 20 veteran members of the congressional For Country Caucus, as well as Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis Richard McDonough and dozens of other volunteers, attended Tuesday's meeting to help assemble 5,000 individually addressed care packages.
"As a Marine who fought in the War on Terrorism, I fully understand the incredible sacrifices made each and every day by members of our armed forces and their families," caucus co-chair Rep. Van Taylor, R-Texas, told Fox News in a statement. "I led a Marine reconnaissance platoon in Iraq where we lived the creed, ‘Leave no one behind.’ This applies not only to troops serving overseas but to those same troops when they return home."
Military Appreciation Month Care Package Assembly event by Operation Gratitude (Credit: Operation Gratitude)
He added that the For Country Caucus "is committed to standing with our service members no matter."
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"That’s why the For Country Caucus strongly supports the construction of a national memorial on the national mall here in D.C. to recognize and honor those who sacrificed so much in the Global War on Terrorism," Taylor said.
Caucus co-vice chair Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., said preparing the care packages "is a small way for those of us here in the United States to show our appreciation for the brave Americans who are currently serving abroad."
Military Appreciation Month Care Package Assembly event by Operation Gratitude (Credit: Operation Gratitude)
"It’s not easy for these young men and women to be away from their families and friends for long periods of time," the congressman said. "Until our troops return to American soil, it is important we show that we stand by them. And as a Vietnam veteran, I know the importance of making sure our troops continue to feel supported even after they return home. The For Country Caucus is focused on supporting our service members at home and abroad."
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The packages, which contain Girl Scout cookies, personal care products, Starbucks coffee, handmade items like knitted scarves and letters, will then be shipped to deployed soldiers, airmen, Marines. and sailors.
Operation Gratitude will ship the packages to service members in "dozens of counties and on U.S. Navy vessels in all seven seas" including the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, USS Carter Hall, USS Laboon, USS Dwight D Eisenhower and USS Sullivan, Operation Gratitude CEO Kevin Schmiegel, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, told Fox News.
Military Appreciation Month Care Package Assembly event by Operation Gratitude (Credit: Operation Gratitude)
"We received tens of thousands of scarves, hundreds of thousands of bracelets and nearly a million handwritten letters, so it's really cool," he said of donations Operation Gratitude has gathered throughout the past year amid COVID-19.
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The care-package assembly event, which will continue until May 20, also comes as the Military prepares for the full withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan following President Biden's April announcement that all 2,500 remaining service members deployed in the country must return by Sept. 11, 2021, on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
"What we don't want, as an organization, is for people to forget that there are still more than 200,000 men and women in our military who will still deploy each year … to the Middle East … Africa, Asia and on ships across the world. And there are Marines in more than 100 embassies across the globe, too. So, what we don't want from that … announcement to the American people is that the War is over," Schmiegel said.
He continued: "The war is not over. We still have people in harm's way. And even when the last troop comes home from Afghanistan, there are going to be people all over the world who are deployed away from their families for months on end, and we want people to continue to recognize that and support them. "
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Other members of the For Country Caucus who were present at Tuesday's meeting include caucus co-vice chair Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., as well as caucus co-chair Jared Golden, D-Maine, could not attend Tuesday's event due to the birth of his first child on Friday.
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