Veterans Day 2020: Serving those who serve: Many community programs help Fort Bragg soldiers

Nov. 6--This story is part of our special Veterans Day section, which will run in print Sunday, Nov. 8. Look for more stories from this special publication throughout the week.

Fayetteville and Fort Bragg are a community where people have spent part or all of their careers serving others: Namely, their fellow Americans.

It comes as no surprise then that a spirit of service pervades this community. That becomes even clearer when it is the soldiers themselves who need a hand.

In short: We know how to take care of our own here.

The Braxton Bragg chapter of the Association of the United States Army is just one example.

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The members always make sure to memorialize Sept. 11 and the devastating events on that day that led to the Global War on Terrorism -- years-long campaigns that have been such a big part of the lives of many families here.

The AUSA members also want people to remember the national unity that followed 9/11. They see the day as a time to serve.

In a joint effort with Feed The Children, the organization on this Sept. 11 delivered food and other essential items worth $89,000 to the Fort Bragg Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, a main group that serves military families on the post.

"We make sure the community knows that the Army is there, and they need the Army and they should support the Army," says retired Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew McFowler, president of the group.

But he adds: "A family is probably as important if not more important than the soldier. If the soldier is not happy and supported and his family is not taken care of, he can't do his job. He just can't. By taking care of the family, you are taking care of him so he can do his job. And the more comfortable he is with his family being taken care of, the better he'll perform."

Over the many years of the Global War on Terrorism, a number of community organizations and individuals have sought to help military members and their families.

Efforts include:

--In late November of 2019, volunteers with Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity helped build a Veterans Village that comprised seven homes in a cul-de-sac, near the corner of Bunce Road and Old Bunce Road. The new homeowners are veterans, who have faced challenges. "A lot of times what we don't see a lot of is what happens to our military members when they leave the service," Brandon Price with Habitat said in an interview at the time. "And we have far too many homeless veterans."

--This past August, veterans and supporters ran in the fifth annual Man 22 Suicide Awareness Run. It was organized by former Fort Bragg soldier Enrique Murillo, and runners over the 2.22-mile distance were encouraged to wear vests with the images of fallen friends. The number "22" represents the number of veterans who die by suicide each day. Money from the event is divided between organizations that help to prevent suicide or involve veterans' resources, according to TV station ABC-11. Fort Bragg has a support program for suicide prevention.

--A community garden, Veggies for Vets, opened earlier in 2020 and is designed for homeless and at-risk veterans. Nonprofit groups Off-Road Outreach and ServiceSource started the garden, located off Ames Street. Stacey Buckner told a reporter she had often provided food and toiletries to homeless veterans but wanted to go further, to "make it more meaningful."

--A fall 2020, event, "Boots to Roots: A Farm Tasting," was a local fundraiser in Hope Mills that benefitted The Veteran's Farm of North Carolina, meant to help veterans transition into a farming career.

--The USO of North Carolina offers a variety of support for Fort Bragg soldiers, their spouses and families, including in late October 2020, a Virtual Transition Expo -- a career fair. Last year, the USO organized a baby shower for expectant and new moms who were serving or who were military spouses.

The outreach shows the deep ties between the city and post, as symbolized by the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, which is owned and operated by the Army but located in downtown Fayetteville.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmie Spencer, who is second vice president of the local AUSA chapter, described his group's role this way: "We enlist a soldier in the Army, but we reenlist a family," he says, citing an old saying in the Army.

"We consider ourselves the bridge between the military community and the civilian community.

"It's important that we have the quality of life in the greater Fayetteville area. We want to make an assignment to Fayetteville for our soldiers to be a 'Class A' event and an assignment of choice. That's what we're after."

Staff writer Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

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