Fort Polk Rolls Out Red Carpet for Sequestered National Guard Members
Members of the 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment of the Michigan National Guard were treated to an evening of shopping and dining tailored for them at the Fort Polk Exchange.
Members of the 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment of the Michigan National Guard were treated to an evening of shopping and dining tailored for them at the Fort Polk Exchange.
The Guard members are training to deploy, and because of COVID-19, have been sequestered at Fort Polk since May 23.
On June 24, Fort Polk Exchange General Manager Ron McDuffie, Exchange associates and members of the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) greeted the Guard members with an applause-filled welcoming line as they departed the buses and filed into the Exchange. The Guard members spent the evening shopping at the main store and Military Clothing, getting a haircut or enjoying a meal in the food court.
“It was an honor for us to provide this night for them,” McDuffie said. “They’ve been sequestered for nearly two months so this was a much-needed morale boost before their deployment.”
Fort Polk is part of a pilot program to improve the quality of life for Soldiers and their families at austere locations. Plans to strengthen Exchange support include additional investment in Wi-Fi infrastructure, the main store and Expresses and on-post dining while intensifying efforts to extend job opportunities to military spouses.
“Another home run by Ron and the awesome JRTC and Fort Polk AAFES team,” said Brig. Gen. Patrick Frank, Commanding General, JRTC. “It was very important to offer these Soldiers some resiliency time and activities. Ron and the AAFES staff are heroes.”
