2009

November

AFSC Troop Greeters Welcome WWII Honor Flight Veterans

In addition to greeting 218 returning combat troops on 11/7/09. The AFSC troop greeters also welcomed 107 WWII Veterans on the Twin Cities Honor Flight. Six AFSC troop greeters were among the fifty guardians on the flight.

October

A taste of home, away from home

(From the StarTribune newspaper)

By MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune

Last update: October 17, 2009 - 11:07 AM

The volunteers of the Armed Forces Service Center call themselves Minnesota's best-kept secret.

Born during the Vietnam era when returning soldiers were sometimes scorned by a public soured by war, the group that welcomes traveling troops coming through the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport now struggles with a post- 9/11 problem -- a concern over security that means many people don't know of its existence.

The center's volunteers rely on donations from local businesses, nonprofits, and veterans' organizations for toiletries, muffins, coffee and other amenities to give troops in transit.

The group has greeted 171 military flights over the past three years. Last month, 3,000 troops passed through, drinking 35 pounds worth of Caribou Coffee and grabbing cell phones lent courtesy of Sprint. The Girl Scouts have been especially generous: a storage room has a well-stocked supply of Do-Si-Dos.

With the country at war on two fronts, the number of troops filtering through the airport has exploded, and the volunteers have found themselves knocking on more doors for donations.

The demand comes as the public's patience with the wars is being tested amid economic hardship. It also comes as the Twin Cities airport continues to operate at a high level of concern over security. The Twin Cities is the venue, after all, where convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was first arrested.

Debra Cain, the center's director, often gets advance word of incoming flights. But troop movements, and where they are coming from and going to, are treated as an issue of operational security. A soldier recently discovered he was going to be traveling through the airport on a layover and sent out e-mails about the schedule. In response, the military re-routed the flight.

"We try to work closely with the airlines and with the military," she said. "There's a lot of concern about keeping troop movement secure. At the same time, we're seeing more and more people coming through. We need funds, funds, funds."

Pat Hogan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which runs the airport, said Transportation Safety Administration regulations apply to airports across the country and that MSP has no history of being more restrictive. The airports commission donates space to the center but is not otherwise affiliated with it.

"The troops are required to be contained in a certain area; they're carrying guns and there is no screening process in terms of when they get off the plane and what they may have," Hogan said. "There are some security concerns that have to be taken into account."

Even with their new blue denim shirts with the letters AFSC embroidered on them (donated in 2008 by Kraus Anderson Construction), local volunteers might be forgiven if they have felt a little left out. Similar groups elsewhere seem to enjoy a much easier time and have flown far less under the radar.

The Maine Troop Greeters, for instance, have welcomed 841,000 troops since 2003 at the Bangor International Airport and have been the subjects of a multitude of attention, including face time with Vice President Joe Biden in the White House and players in a documentary film, "The Way We Get By," being screened this month.

The local center, which is not affiliated with the USO, was founded in 1970 by a woman whose son died in Vietnam. It has never closed.

Besides greeting flights at the gate with a mobile canteen of treats, the Armed Forces Service Center operates a center on the mezzanine of the Lindbergh Terminal. It has a large lounge with satellite TV, free Wi-Fi, complimentary sandwiches, pastries, cereals and soups and bunks for men and women. In the days after 9/11, 16 Marines were stranded there for five days while commercial flights were grounded.

Teacher Jeanne Morford volunteered for the first shift and has returned for a four-hour stint every Monday. Like many of the volunteers, Morford became involved in the center after seeing how troops returning from Vietnam were being treated.

"We should never treat people who have served their country like that again," said Morford, the one-time president of the group. Another volunteer, Annie Olson, began writing letters to soldiers in Vietnam in 1968 and has volunteered at the center since 2004. "I feel it's the best way I can give back to people who have sacrificed so much," she said.

Don Wille, whose stepson Chris is in the Army, learned about the center when his wife, Renee, became involved in a military family support group. He ended up delivering several truckloads of snacks and personal hygiene items donated to his business after learning of the critical need for supplies.

"It's either the first place when they get to American soil or the last place before they leave," he said. "They need to have a good reception one way or the other because they are going to be gone for a long time or they've been gone for a long time."

While soldiers are being given more support than during the Vietnam days, a recent flight in by a group of Marines provided a glimpse of some of the new problems in dealing with weary troops facing extended deployments.

Two and a half hours late after their flight had mechanical difficulties, the Marines filtered through, some staring with fatigue, others happy to have a conversation with the volunteers. An airport police officer and a TSA guard monitored movements the whole time.

As the Marines marched on to their next flight back to their base in Arizona, volunteers from the center made a point of going through the restrooms to make sure no one was planning to go AWOL. It has happened before.

But not on this date. All troops were accounted for and within 45 minutes after the plane landed, the volunteers were breaking down their mobile canteen like a NASCAR crew at a pit stop. Their effort did not go unnoticed.

"After six or seven months of a long deployment you kind of forget that there are people here supporting you," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Cook, whose unit, Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, was returning to its home base in Yuma, Ariz. "When you jump off the plane and see something like this, I am taken aback. It can't help but put a smile on your face for the rest of the trip back home."

It was the end of Cook's third deployment. "Back and forth, this is my sixth time seeing something like this," he said, "and I never get used to it."

A Special Homecoming ...

On Mother's Day, the AFSC "troop greeters" welcomed two flights ...troops received flowers and greeting cards (w/love from Minnesota). The AFSC "mobile canteen" offers combat troops complimentary, Caribou coffee, soft drinks, toiletries, snacks, books, Costco muffins and Sprint cell phones.

From Killeen Daily Herald Newspaper (5/10/09)
 

Herald/Catrina Rawson

Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division prepare to greet their families during a homecoming ceremony Sunday at Cooper Field on Ft. Hood.


4/1/09 - 100th Flight

 

 

2/2009, McDonalds-MSP donated burgers& fries for combat Marines

New Website!
 

Welcome to the new Minnesota Armed Forces Service Center website! Feel free to look around and see what we have!

A Father's Day Act of Kindness

Father's Day was made extra special for some soldiers arriving home via MSP. Thanks to the tireless efforts of a helpful friend with American Airlines, Debra Cain of the Armed Forces Service Center was informed that there were 18 soldiers coming home on leave from Iraq on Father's Day. After making a few calls for volunteers, the volunteer group (Janis Eastman, Teri Wold and Debra) managed to arrive at the gate in advance of their arrival.

As the soldiers exited the plane, the passengers at the surrounding gates began to applaud. Service Center volunteers pulled four soldiers aside, knowing they had connecting NWA flights at 9:30pm. "When we approached the NWA ticket area, the agent directed us to go to the first class counter," Debra explained. "As we waited we noticed there was a gentleman standing at the first class counter. When the agent called for the next passenger, off we went."

"Just as I was began to tell the ticket agent that we were trying to get these soldiers on an earlier flight, the gentleman interrupted and asked, 'First class?' I said no, they're flying coach. He replied, 'I will pay to fly them first class!'"

Out of the four soldiers, the generous gentleman paid for three to fly home (to North Dakota and South Dakota) first class. He would have paid for all four, but the fourth soldier was connecting to an Airlink flight and first class was not available.

Brigadier General Charles Barr wrote a letter to the Armed Forces Service Center on May 5th, in gratitude for the warm hospitality he received while on a layover.

Dear All,

I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the recent outstanding hospitality and kindness shown to me. During a layover en route home from Kuwait and Iraq on R&R leave, I stopped in at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Armed Forces Service Center. What a nice facility and gracious hosts there to greet me when I entered the door. In particular I extend my personal thanks to Otto Murray and Karen Hodge working in the lounge area. Also thanks to Debra Cain who was greeting and directing service personnel in the main lobby of the airport. Again thanks for everything. We love you all and thank you for your service, too.

Sincerely, BG Charles J. Barr

Girl Scouts Join Service Center in Welcoming Troops to MSP
 

On Monday, twenty-nine volunteers with the Armed Forces Service Center (AFSC) welcomed 293 army reservists from North Carolina to the AFSC. The Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis (Troops 1408, 2612 and 2614) also assisted by handing out boxes of cookies to arriving soldiers. After staging AFSC throughout the day, the soldiers boarded buses to Ft. McCoy The 108th Division will deploy to Iraq, after a brief stay in Wisconsin.
In addition to assisting the above group, the AFSC volunteers welcomed two combat wounded soldiers, escorted by TSA. We also greeted four soldiers coming home from Iraq for two weeks R&R, ten soldiers en route to Ft. Snelling for soldier readiness processing (SRP) and four young recruits bound for basic training.