Military Personnel Helping Local Agriculture? (Army, uniforms, overseas, how much)

[BrokenTap]

With the promote agriculture movement in full swing, I think as a farmer it is only appropriate to thank our military personnel. While I have thanked you in the past for what you do, this time I would like to sincerely thank you for what you wear while you do that important task. That is because I am a sheep farmer and government regulations require military clothing that contains wool, to be US produced wool.

I know you are kind of forced to wear your military clothing, but did you know that you are the largest consumer of US Wool? Did you know that having such a big presence in the wool industry means your clothes are making some huge advancements in the wool industry?

For instance in the last year textile companies have developed a fire proof wool material that blends wool with nomex. Wool has always been fire resistant, but now with nomex blended in, it is fire proof. That is being driven by a possible fire proof requirement of military clothing.

Another proposed rule is machine wash-ability. Typically wool is hand washed, but again some new research is showing a textile process that allows wool to be machine washed with no ill affects against the fiber.

Another advancement was in wool comfort. A new textile process injects puffs of air in the weaving process and allows wool to be more comfortable and is not "itchy". Again this was driven my military needs. And all three of these new processes have just been revealed in the last 365 days alone so your clothing is spurning a lot of research!

I realize that as you don your military clothing it is probably mundane to you, and I also realize regulations REQUIRE you to wear these clothes, but you are thus ENABLING an entire domestic wool industry to thrive...and that is truly supporting your local agriculture. Small flocks of sheep in Maine, large flocks of sheep in Utah, and an entire textile plant in North Carolina are all supported by the clothes you wear.

As a Maine sheep farmer I must say...thanks.

(And of course for putting your life on the line in the name of Freedom!)

[Kalbo]

Thanks to all the farmers who support the military.

[Crew Chief]

BrokenTap, lemme tell you how much we appreciate your efforts while sitting atop a cold aircraft. Or a windy flight deck. Or anywhere else we work!

[yinduffy]

I thought that there was a simlar law about Cotton in U.S. Military uniforms too.

[Belle77]

That's very cool!

[BrokenTap]

We are an interesting farming family...and full of military history too. We got this farm when my Great Grandfather ten times removed fought for the King of England driving out the French and Indians from Maine in the French and Indian War in 1755. The only reason we have the farm to this day is because we switched sides in the American Revoluonary War and fought with Henry Knox's regiment. He allowed us to keep the land the King had granted us.

When the wars came, we as a family answered the call, 4 of my family never returning from the Revolutionary War at Bunker Hill, the Battle of New Orleans in the Civil War, lost in action of Germany in WW-II on a B-17 and of course the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.

No regrets my friends.

255 Years later...we are still here, we are still farming and we are still free!

[BrokenTap]

This is a story I heard a lot about over the years and kind of shows our attitude on farming and the military man.

In 1943 my Great Grandfather's 7 boys were all off fighting the German's and Japaneses overseas. This left him with hundreds of acres of potatoes destined for a very hungary army and no men to pick them. So he contacted the War Dept and had had some German POW's sent down from the POW Camp in Bangor.

Now they came down and were very happy to be out in the open air and helping to pick these potatoes. In fact they did a heck of a job because their own county had been war-torn for so long that they were shocked at how untouched USA was. Now my Great Grandfather was a drinking man and liked his hard apple cider, and appreciated hard work. It is a tradition (then and now) that when the crop is in the barn, we roll the cider barrels out and have us a time. My Great Grandfather figured that since the POW's had done such a good job there was no reason why the tradition should not continue. So out came the cider barrels and everyone got quite social!!

So about 9 PM they figured since things were going good, they would just keep going with the festivities. So at 3 AM the POW's finally made it back to base and everyone was sideways drunk...the POW's and the Guards alike! The commander of the POW Camp interrogated everyone trying to find out who started this catastrophe. Finally someone ratted on my Great Grandfather. So the next day the commander came down and asked my Great Grandfather if he got the POW's drunk. My Great Grandfather admitted that he did.

"Why in the blue blazes would you do that", he asked? "You have 7 boys putting their lives on the line fighting them overseas. Why would you get them drunk?"

"Well I figured that since they did a good job getting the potatoes in, and here, when the potatoes are in the potato house, we roll out the cider barrels."

Now rumor has it that as the commander talked with my Great Grandfather, he had to test this aforementioned cider, and word has it, he was just as lit as the POW's and Guards...and the War Dept never heard about the POW's and my Great Grandfather getting them all drunk.

In fact in later years it was said that the kind way the USA treated the German POW's helped to foster good relations with Germany there after. I would like to think this farm, my Grandfathers open-mindedness and his willingness to share his cider with men in uniform...friend and foe...had something to do with world peace!

[caution]

And thank you. I can recall a few times when that old five button wool sweater (was once common issue, but I'm not so sure now) and wool blend long jons probably saved me from hypothermia. I love the new, high tech fabrics, but I'm not sure they work as well when they're wet. Nothin' much worse than being soaked to the bone and freezing.