On Saturday, October 20 from 11am – 3pm the last Marine Corps Car Wash Fundraiser will be held before the 2012 USMC Birthday Ball. Please help or come by and get your car washed. Location: Behind Kangaroo Express and in front of RallyPoint 1837 North Harrison Avenue Cary, NC. Team Red Bull will be handing out drinks and the USO-NC will have food.

We were there (Volunteers & Leadership in the last month)
2012 Maneuvers Conference at Ft. Benning GA.
Modern Day Marine in Quantico, VA
USO-NC Gala meetings
Operation Coming Home Promotions and meetings
Helping with several future confidential corporate projects
Salute Our Troops Tour
Parachute Jumps
Speakers at September 11 events
Marine Corps Family Day
US Army Spirit of America

US Marines that recently returned from Southwest Asia.

I guess I always look at the other Servicemen and women as the true Veterans. You know to whom I'm referring. The ones that gave way more than I ever did for their country. The ones who fought and paid with wounds to their body, or worse. They, in my mind, are the true veterans whom this day was meant. Then on the other hand, I ask myself this question; "If I had ever been put in a position where I was deployed to a combat zone, would I have fought and done so willingly? And the answer is, yes I would have and would have done so, proudly.

I reflect back on my military service in the US Army with a great sense of pride. I was proud to wear the uniform. I was proud of the branch of military I was in and was proud of the people with whom I served. I was proud to have been fortunate enough to have the physical ability God so abundantly gifted me with to have served this great country of ours in the armed forces.

So, as I conclude this Blog post I want to end it with a poem. This poem wasn't written by me, but rather by one of the members of the US Veterans Corps, Crissy Roberts. Crissy's husband, Stan, served in the Marine Corps and lost a leg while deployed in Afghanistan. In my mind, this day is meant for Veteran's like Stan. However, Crissy wrote this poem, not just with Stan in mind, but all who served, including Veteran's like me.

Sitting in a room, I wonder what each soldier is thinking today?
I wonder if he has the strength to remember every word he wants to say?
Will he know of the people who cry of his sacrifice?
Will he be that veteran to lend an active duty soldier his advice?
Is his family dealing well with all the struggles?
Can they sift through all of the deployments puzzles?
Do the tears his wife shed mean anything to the people of this nation?
Do we yell loud enough to ease her heart with nothing but admiration?
Today is our chance to let them know how much we care?
To soften the blows of each one's death and despair?
To lift up, but one soldier and the ones he loves
So for one day they can be as light as a dove.
For military sacrifice is hard enough,
But to know it is appreciated makes it not so rough.
Hug a soldier, grab his mother, or just look into the eyes of his child,
Tell them that you care and you are glad he went that extra mile.
For freedom is not just won on the field of wars terrain
But from a nation who gives of their appreciation with nothing to gain.

Happy Veteran's Day to every man and woman, husband, or wife, parent, or child, who ever served this great country of ours. May God bless each and everyone of you.

As I sit here writing this blog entry, I find myself thinking about the reason for our groups existence and our motto; 'See What A Few Can Do' and I'm amazed and what we've done, what we've accomplished and the difference we've made in people's lives. As a military veteran, I'm proud of my service, both to my country, as well as to my community. However, I'm even more proud of those men and woman who served both before and after me and gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure this great country of ours continues to enjoy the freedom we have.

Through the United States Veterans Corps, people can see what a 'Few Can Do'. But on this Memorial Day, I want everyone to remember what, not just a few, but thousands did to ensure our freedom.

So my challenge to each and everyone reading this is to educate a child, young and old, as to not only the meaning of Memorial Day and why we celebrate it, but also what it means to you personally.

I wish to thank all those who not only served in our armed forces, but who also died doing so. We will never forget you, or take for granted the sacrifice you made for us. May you rest in peace and may God continue to bless your familiy and our country.

Happy Memorial Day Everyone,

Brent Kappler
2011 USVC President

Of course an event of this magnitude doesn't happen without a great number of people, and I have a great number of our members I'd like to thank.                                                                                                        

I'd like to start out with a huge THANK YOU to Andy Ladner and Chris Lawson.  Both Andy and Chris showed up to the event at 5:00 a.m. and didn't leave until the last pallet of food was loaded on the truck. Andy started working with me inside the semi-truck moving pallets of food, once they were weighed, to the back of the truck for delivery to the Eastern and Central North Carolina Food Bank.  Andy later moved to help out on the forklift, as well.  In fact, he was on the forklift so long, that he admitted hearing the back up beeps in his sleep.  Chris volunteered to be in charge and did a great job of giving a safety briefing, ensuring that everyone was safe and out of harms way all day long.  He did a remarkable job of managing the leadership role. Thank you, once again, to both Andy and Chris.  You certainly deserve the Dedication Award for the day.

The next team I'd like to recognize and thank is the Forklift team.  I started out on the pallet team with Andy and later moved to the forklift to help out there. The first person I'd like to thank, not only of his help on the forklift, but also for his tremendous instruction on forklift operation, is Stan Pinkus, who worked 3 shifts. Stan's instruction helped ensure that I didn't have any mishaps while operating that piece of machinery.  And believe me, when you're driving a piece of machinery with over a ton of weight on the front, it was very important to ensure that there weren't any mishaps. Thanks, again, Stan.  Also on the forklift team were Greg Anysz who worked 2 shifts.  Greg's father,Joe Anysz worked 2 shifts.  Steve Volandt, who along with his wife, Kathleen, worked 2 shifts, and New USVC member and sponsor, Shawn Rumsberger met with Chris and Andy onsite about the furture of the USVC.

If you're like me, then here is some good news.  2011 has barely gotten underway and the USVC has already had a major positive impact on our community.  Already this year we've awarded the NC State dance line members with their Presidential Volunteer letter and pin for their involvement in Operation Coming Home.  We've been involved with Military Appreciation night at Reynolds Coliseum with the NC State Wolfpack wrestling team where the Wounded Soldiers of Ft. Bragg were honored.  We were also there to help Rachel Friedman, the daughter of a Navy veteran, who was paralyzed in a fluke accident last summer just before her scheduled wedding date, have her house renovated to meet her needs in order for her to get around.   And now, next Saturday, March 5th we've been called to help The North Carolina School of Science and Math get ready to embark upon their goal of setting a new world record for the largest food drive.  The Guinness Book of World Records will be on site to witness the event and we need your help. 

As you can imagine, an event of this magnitude will require many people with a variety of skills.  We will need people to collect the donated food, move pallets into trucks, stack boxes in the trucks, and operate machinery.  If you've already given your name to either Andy Ladner, or myself as being able to help next Saturday, let me say thank you.  Your service is and will be greatly appreciated.  If you haven't yet informed us that you can help, here's more good news…It's not too late.  All you need to do is email us your name and a phone number where you can be reached along with the time you'd like to work and we'll see to it that you're on the schedule.  We will need as many volunteers as we can get.  The more, the better and that includes your kids, as well.  If your children are 10 years old or older, then we can use their help.  We've got one member bringing his teenage daughter so she can use this time for her volunteer service work project needed for school and also to use for her resume for college entrance.  How awesome is that. 

If you can help, the address of the North Carolina School of Science and Math is: 1912 West Club Blvd., Durham, NC 27705.  We hope to see as many USVC members there as possible.   And just as a reminder, even if you can't help out physically, you can still help out with your donation of any non-perishable food item.  Simply contact either Andy, or me and we'll make arrangements to collect your donation and make sure it's delivered. 

Let's continue to show the community that no matter the call, the USVC can be counted on to help. 

God bless each of you as you continue your work  of service with the USVC.

Brent Kappler – 2011 USVC President

As I was installed last Tuesday night as this years United States Veterans Corps president, I listened to words spoken by Lt. Col. John Farnsworth giving an analogy comparing the USVC to that of a Red Wood tree, the largest living plant on earth. He told how the tree starts with a pine cone as small as the tip our pinky finger and grows to become enormous in size.  And that's just what's becoming of the United States Veterans Corps.  Our organization was started two years ago by co-founders, Andy Ladner, our inaugural president and Chris Lawson, last years president.  They saw a need to be met and were soon joined by a small group of other veterans who recognized what this group was all about.  They wanted to help with community tasks and projects involving other veterans and active military personnel and answered the call to do so.  In the first two years, the USVC has seen growth and community impact far beyond what anyone imagined.  They have been involved in over two dozen missions, including participation in two Operation Coming Home, Toy drives for Lil Troops, as well as Toys for Tots in connection with the Marine Corps.  The USVC has also put together food drives for local veterans, as well as organized care package drives for military service men and women serving overseas.  They've participated in Welcome Home and Deployment ceremonies and even helped veterans with furniture moves on moving day, just to name a few.

The United States Veterans Corps has also been recognized for these community efforts, both locally and nationally, although they've never asked for it. They've received 11 Coins from both military and civilian organizations, including the State of NC Highway Patrol Governors detail and also received 7 Awards and Letters of Recognition, to include a Presidential Letter of Recognition and Award for Volunteer Service for their involvement in Operation Coming Home.

Indeed, the USVC has accomplished a great deal in their first two years of existence and we will continue to accomplish great things for 2011. Our first big event for this year will be to assist in setting a new Guinness Book of World Records food drive.  The food drive will take place either March 4th or 5th.  Details will be posted soon. You can help with this food drive by dropping off your donation at the drive site, or ahead of time by contacting Mr. Andy Ladner at the Raleigh/Wake office. We will also need USVC volunteers to move pallets with pallet jacks in the back of big trailers to the Marines on fork lifts for weighing. We will then move them to the next trailer for transport. Please stay tuned for further details on this mission as the USVC helps make history.

You can track this event, and all upcoming events for the year, on Facebook & Twitter.

I look forward to getting to know all of you better and working with each of you to make the United States Veterans Corps in 2011 even bigger and greater.

God Bless each of you as we embark on a great year together.

Brent Kappler

2011 USVC President