When new recruits first set foot on Fort Benning, their 10-week transformation from trainee to Soldier begins.
During the pandemic, many take an unexpected detour: a 5- to 14-day stay in quarantine or isolation at the Fort Benning Recovery Center (FBRC).
Understanding guests can find themselves in sudden need of hygiene essentials such as shampoo, toothpaste, soap and deodorant, the FBRC’s former executive officer 1st Lt. Zachary Thompson called the Fort Benning Exchange General Manager’s Office Assistant Faith Clonts.
“We needed some things we could distribute to a kid if they come in at 2 a.m. and haven’t had time to order any training items,” Thompson said. “We wanted them to at least be able to shower, rest, relax and feel at ease.”
Clonts consulted with Fort Benning Exchange General Manager Don Sydlik, who reached out to Susan Trentham, senior buyer for health and beauty care at Exchange headquarters, for help. Trentham was able to arrange for samples of personal care items to be sent to Fort Benning.
“Some of these young recruits haven’t really been out in the world yet,” Clonts said. “We don’t know what kind of background they’re coming from, and they may need some very basic essentials.”
Since enlisting the support of Trentham and Sydlik, Clonts has hand-delivered 100 cases of shampoo, 100 cases of 3-in-1 body wash, 4,000+ sample-sized toothbrushes and toothpaste, 2,000 bars of soap, and a 2,000-piece shipment including feminine hygiene products to FBRC.
“We want to take care of our Soldiers—they’re why we’re here,” Clonts said. “It’s family serving family. My father is retired Air Force and my brother was in the Army, so the military is who I am. It’s what I grew up with and where I grew up, so the service members and military are very near to my heart.”
Thompson said the Exchange’s support helps FBRC cadre members keep their guests comfortable and at ease.
“One of our goals is to keep trainees comfortable so they can recover as quickly as possible and get back to training,” Thompson said. “Faith and the Exchange team have been instrumental in that.”
Thompson recently transferred to a different unit at Fort Benning and said he expects the partnership cultivated during his tenure at FBRC to continue to grow moving forward.
“This is a wonderful relationship,” Thompson said. “It makes me that much happier to be an Exchange customer, because I can see firsthand that it’s going straight back into supporting the military.”
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