FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Military life can be very stressful for Soldiers and their Families. Add in the stressors of financial instability, and there exists the potential for a major problem across the Army. Chaplain (Capt.) Roy Butler, assigned to 7th Engineer Battalion, saw this issue within the battalion and decided to do something about it.
Soldiers of 7th Engineer Battalion conducted a food drive July 17-28 to give back to the Watertown Urban Mission, which has helped so many Soldiers and their Families in the past.
Located on Factory Street, the Watertown Urban Mission provides food and personal hygiene items to those in need, many of whom are military veterans and Soldiers with Families.
Butler organized the food drive as a way to give back to the organization to thank them for helping Soldiers. Each company in the battalion participated in the food drive with a great outpouring of support for the cause. After two weeks, the battalion collected approximately $2,500 in donated food, enough food to feed 10 Families for a week.
"My motivation to lead a battalion food drive for the Urban Mission was to return the help they provided us," Butler said. "There were several married Soldiers in the battalion that came to me during the months of March and April that desperately needed food to feed their Families, and the Urban Mission was a tremendous help. The food drive was simply our way of saying thank you for helping our 7th Engineer Families."
When Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Lococo, senior enlisted adviser for 7th Engineer Battalion, learned that the Watertown Urban Mission provided food for the Soldiers, he put his full support behind the food drive.
"It's an old Army custom for each unit to take care of our own," Lococo said. "When I learned that the Urban Mission helped out our Soldiers, I felt it was our duty as a battalion to give something back."
The issue at large is not lost on the battalion, though. Financial instability is known among unit leaders as an issue that must be addressed to improve overall unit readiness. Leaders need to ensure Soldiers know where to get assistance if they ever encounter a hardship, because some Soldiers might not feel comfortable talking about it. This can be done during the initial counseling and reinforced monthly if needed.
Fort Drum and the surrounding communities have programs in place to assist people with needs, and it is a leader's job to help make the Soldiers aware of them in order to better support Army Families.
Cameron serves with 7th Engineer Battalion.
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