Whether you agree with the politics of the ongoing war in Afghanistan or Iraq, the time is here to support the often forgotten heroes of war - the families left behind here in Newton County.
As our own men and women of Covington's Bravo Company 1/121st Infantry prepare to deploy to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the opportunity to offer support to those families should now be the No. 1 priority of the Newton County business community.
Deployment is often difficult on the families of soldiers as they depend heavily on those soldiers for financial support. Without that additional income or support, many families find it hard to make ends meet.
Operation Patriot's Call, a program seeking the participation of local businesses and community organizations to develop a resource directory for the families of deployed soldiers, seeks to provide assistance for things from vehicle repair to movie rentals to dental care during the time of deployment.
This program's objective is to make that time easier by offering services at discounted rates for family members of deployed servicemen and servicewomen - a program worthy of the attention of our business community.
Guardsmen do sign with the knowledge that they may one day be called to duty on the other side of the world, but the financial, and sometimes emotional burden, deployment may have on a family is something we as Newton County residents should be more than happy to ease.
The price of a small discount for services is little to ask in return for the sacrifices of these soldiers and their families. Those interested should contact the National Guard Armory in Covington. For more information about Operation Patriot's Call, go to www.patriotscall.com.
If you are willing to offer a discount to the families of our deployed troops call or e-mail us at rbyrd@covnews.com or pcavanaugh@covnews.com. You can also call us at (770) 787-6397. We'll commit to running a list of the names of those businesses participating in Operation Patriot's Call in the pages of our newspaper.
