Poor Soldiers On Thanksgiving

From the Stars and Stripes:
"Troops reach out for help feeding their families at Thanksgiving"

Hundreds of financially strained military families in the Washington area are lining up for turkeys and free groceries this holiday season, depending on the USO to help put food on the table, The Washington Post reported. The organization had to cap its annual “turkeys for troops” giveaway at 1,400 families this year, up from 150 before the economic downturn, a USO spokesman told the Post. The USO has set up food pantries at bases around the U.S. and teamed up with local food banks after seeing a surge in the number of military families seeking assistance in the past year, the Post said. Although military pay has risen faster than private-sector salaries since 9/11, spouses often have trouble finding work, and many servicemembers have found themselves upside-down on mortgages when they were unable to sell their houses after being transferred to new duty stations. Food-stamp use at commissaries has nearly tripled in the past four years.

^ This is the sadest thing I have heard. The idea that families separated on a holiday because their loved one is in a war-zone is one thing and to learn that they can't feed their families is just disgusting. Soldiers, veterans and their families should ALWAYS be taken care of. They are willing to give their lives for our country and should never have to worry about where their next meal will come from. It seems the Government is s willing to start wars, put the soldiers' lives at risk and yet do nothing to help their or their families. Most are too proud to ask for the basic things they need and deserve and they shouldn't have to ask. ^

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/troops-reach-out-for-help-feeding-their-families-at-thanksgiving-1.161538