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Published: 26 November 2011

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Support Our Troops^® has been appointed to one of the three directorships of the Military Support Groups of America Federation within the Combined Federal Campaign. The board of this federation reviews and admits federation CFC applications primarily from charities focused on servicemembers and their families presently and recently serving in the national defense community. Marin C. Boire, Chairman of SOT, is one of those three votes. 2011 is the 50th anniversary of the Combined Federal Campaign. Established in 1961, the CFC is a program which enables certain carefully screened and approved charitable organizations to solicit contributions from employees of the Federal Government of the United States. The CFC is one of the most successful charity campaigns raising well over $100 million annually. Overseen by the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM), it is the largest and most successful workplace charity campaign in the world. By law it is the only campaign authorized to solicit for and collect charitable contributions from U.S. federal employees, including civil servants, postal workers, and military personnel. The Military Support Groups of America Federation was established in 2010 to bring Federation listings of military support groups into alignment with CFC approvals made in compliance with law. The Military Support Groups of America Federation will assure that groups supporting the military and their families are always properly and fairly treated in the CFC. Many of the charities participating in the Combined Federal Campaign are grouped into federations, each federation being organized around a particular topic. This enables donors to more easily locate and donate to causes in which they are interested, and allows charities to save money and effort by better organizing their donor awareness campaigns. This federation approach to CFC participation was created by Congress in 1987 at the request of federal employees who disliked exclusion of charities to which they might like to contribute, and the OMB which wanted to avoid any closed-shop arrangement developing as with the United Way. The purpose of this change was to prohibit a monopoly of access to the CFC. New principles were followed in which the charities already in the CFC could no longer vote to keep out qualified new applicants. If an applicant charity met the legal CFC standards, that charity's application would be accepted for participating in the CFC. The standard was to be fair, evenhanded, and equitable administration. Charities are to be listed, and the donative evaluation and decision left up to the donor and not pre-made for the donor based on an exclusion by others. But in recent years many good charities supporting the military community and their families experienced difficulties with a CFC federation known as Military, Veterans, and Patriotic Organizations of America. According to information provided, the board at the time these practices arose was comprised of: Linda Mansfield, President, no member affiliation; Joe Sternburg, Treasurer, Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund; Kathleen Burke, Secretary, National Military Family Association; Stacy Ale, Director, PVA; Nancy O'Brien, Director, DAV. This Board arbitrarily excluded groups which had been legally approved for participation in the CFC by the OMB under the promulgated CFC rules. These practices of course in turn harmed the military community and their families because the charities that were applying were not included in that federation list to be found by donors looking for them in order to support the military. That board perhaps erroneously believed that by keeping new applicants out, those that were already in would receive more or avoid a decrease. A number of the groups which applied and were turned away by the board of that federation had overhead and performance ratios equal and superior to those of some of the groups within the Federation. In response, just as the federal employees, Congress and OPM moved against monopolization in 1987, the Military Support Groups of America Federation was created in 2010 to step away from this type of federation protectionism and monopolization and assure that groups supporting the national defense community and its families are always properly and fairly treated in the CFC. Support Our Troops^® appreciates the opportunity to perform the important responsibility of the Military Support Groups of America Federation, and will do so in a manner befitting the honor and integrity of America's troops and their families. The fidelity of Support Our Troops led to this appointment, and it is our covenant to follow the same principles and business acumen in properly executing our duties in this critical position. When it comes to nonprofit work to benefit the national defense community it is the philosophy of Support Our Troops that we can all do best by the troops by assisting everybody that is do anything to help them. It is not a contest between competitors, and groups which merely look out for their own self-interest are not acting in the best interest of the troops. It is not Coke versus Pepsi. It is not the case that a dollar might go to one that could've gone to another. It is the simple fact that all groups are working for the same beneficiaries, the troops deserve the best that we can offer them, and the Military Support Groups of America CFC Federation will work diligently to do so. SupportOurTroops.Org was previously in the "Charities With Overhead Less Than 5%" federation. SOT's overhead is consistently below 5%. The record growth of Support Our Troops^® in combination with such extremely low overhead, results from successful execution of a sound business plan built upon strong fundamentals and financial acumen. Support Our Troops will continue to build upon those same principles into the future to maximize its mission for the troops. November 26, 2011 The SOT Team

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Published: 16 November 2011

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Columbia, SC: November 16, 2011 - South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond today announced the top ten Angels for 2011. The Angels were recognized at a press conference and honored with a reception in the Secretary of State's Office following the announcement. This is the sixteenth year of the Angel awards. The Angels honored represent organizations that exemplify charitable giving in South Carolina. Representatives from all organizations were in attendance to receive a plaque and recognition from Secretary Hammond. SupportOurTroops.Org was recognized as an Angel, with 98.3% of its expenditures going toward its program activities. Angels were selected by review of financial reports submitted annually to the Secretary of State's Office, as well as by nominations from the public. To be selected as an Angel, the nonprofit must devote 80 percent or more of its total expenditures to charitable programs; the charity must have been in existence for three or more years; the charity must make good use of volunteer services; and the charity must receive minimal funding from grants. Each year the Secretary of State's Office attempts to showcase Angels with diverse missions, from across South Carolina and outside the state. Secretary Hammond issued the following statement: "As Secretary of State, I have the duty of enforcing the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act, and of protecting the public against "Scrooge" organizations that want to take advantage of our giving spirit. Charitable solicitations across the state have increased in the last four years because more and more people are in need of assistance. Even though times are tough, South Carolinians continue to be some of the most generous people in the nation and always answer the call when it comes to defending and helping the less fortunate." Martin C. Boire, Chairman of Support Our Troops^®, was on hand to accept the award for the nationwide organization, now registered in all 50 states, and stated "We are honored for this award and grateful for the opportunity to be here to accept it. It takes a sincere, caring attitude by the Secretary of State, and a great number of hours perform the research needed to be able to properly get out the word about where people can safely and effectively donate their hard-earned money for the good of others. We are grateful for South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond for making the time to perform the useful, operative service of helping people identify good charities with which they would like to participate. The more people helping to get the word out, the more good can be done for the troops and their families."  

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Published: 10 November 2011

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"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." ~~ John Stuart Mill, via Charley Price, a vet in Florida

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Published: 04 November 2011

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2000 – U.S. Central Command officials have declared Threat Condition Delta, the highest threat level, in Bahrain and Qatar, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said here Oct. 24. Threatcon Delta Declared in Bahrain, Qatar By Linda D. Kozaryn American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2000 – U.S. Central Command officials have declared Threat Condition Delta, the highest threat level, in Bahrain and Qatar, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said here Oct. 24. The entire Central Command area of responsibility went to Threat Condition Charlie immediately after the Oct. 12 attack on the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. Based on the most recent threat assessment, Quigley said, military leaders raised the threat level in Bahrain, where about 1,100 U.S. service members are stationed, and in Qatar, where fewer than 50 U.S. service members tend pre-positioned equipment. While the credibility of threat information provided by intelligence sources was unknown, he said, "given the circumstances, the recent attack on the Cole and the generally higher level of threat throughout the region, we thought it was simply the prudent thing to do to go to that higher threat condition in those two specific areas." "Vessels in the U.S. Fifth Fleet will remain at sea for the foreseeable future," he said. The threat condition throughout the rest of Central Command, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey, remains at Threat Condition Charlie. The last time CENTCOM went to Threat Condition Delta, he noted, was following the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Africa. Overall, Quigley said, the threat against U.S. interests overseas has increased over the past 10 to 20 years. "We are not universally welcomed in a lot of places overseas, and forces there have shown their objections to U.S. military presence in a variety of ways, unfortunately, some of them very violent," he said. The attack on the Cole has heightened awareness throughout the armed forces, he said. "I would suggest that probably every installation's security manager, commanding officer (and) their security force is taking a good, hard look at the procedures they have in place, and saying, 'Are we still OK?' ... Is (there) something we should perhaps change?'" Quigley said. The military's four threat levels, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta, each bear a set of increasingly restrictive security precautions. Considerations include the movement of people, visitor identification, vehicle checks, and the offset of allowed parking next to facilities and buildings, he said. Threat Condition Delta is normally declared as a localized warning when a terrorist attack has occurred or intelligence indicates likely terrorist action against a specific location. It requires commanders to implement mandatory security measures tailored to the local scenario, and it authorizes and encourages them to supplement the mandatory measures as they see fit, based on their knowledge of the local area, Quigley said. The explosion aboard the Cole tore a 40-by-40 foot waterline hole in the destroyer's portside hull amidships. Seventeen sailors died in the explosion and more than 35 were injured. The ship is still in Aden, stable and operating on her own power, Quigley noted. Six other U.S. ships are nearby. The amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa, the amphibious transport USS Duluth and dock landing ship USS Anchorage are off the coast of Yemen to provide additional berthing for the U.S. teams on the scene. The frigate USS Hawes, combat support ship USS Camden, destroyer USS Donald Cook and the ocean tug USS Catawba are also in the area to provide in support. The Catawba will tow the Cole to deep water for loading aboard the Blue Marlin, a privately owned heavy-lift salvage ship that will carry the damaged ship piggyback to Norfolk, Va. Blue Marlin is due to arrive in Aden by about Oct. 28. The FBI investigation into the Cole attack is ongoing, Quiqley said, and the Navy's Judge Advocate General Manual Investigation will look at ship operations prior to the attack to ensure all Navy procedures were followed. A commission co-chaired by retired Army Gen. William Crouch and Navy Adm. Harold Gehman, is gearing up to formulate lessons learned to improve force protection. "Secretary (William) Cohen did not set a deadline for the work, but said he hoped that they would complete their review as soon as possible," Quigley remarked.