Special to GUIDON

Got a winning barbecue recipe?

The small town of Ellington, Mo., is seeking teams to participate in the Spring Smokin’ Barbecue Competition.

By Lt. Gen. Mike Ferriter
Installation Management Command commanding general

Every day across our installations, members of Team Installation Management Command  are working hard to provide world-class customer service and make it a great day to be a Soldier, Family member or Army civilian.

A prime example is when a 71-year-old retired sergeant first class visited the Fort McCoy, Wisc., ID card office to renew his card. Ken Quade, a separation and retirement services specialist, noticed the retiree needed a different kind of card. He was not receiving all the benefits he should have.

Quade could see the customer needed help, and so he took corrective action. Incredibly, with Quade’s help, the retiree was eventually able to recover more than $41,000 in back pay and receive other benefits he had earned.

Just imagine the impact of this on the sergeant first class and his wife. They returned to the office to tell Quade in person what a big difference it made in their lives.

We in the Installation Management Command are charged with delivering the majority of installation services and Soldier and Family programs, and we know that a critical element of service delivery depends on our people.

World-class customer service depends on making connections with the customers across the counter — listening to them, working to find solutions, and saying “thank you.” It doesn’t cost a penny to make someone feel like a million dollars. It does take a commitment to serve and provide leadership at every level.

By Joan Lenahan-Bernard
Special to GUIDON

Classroom breakfast program: Because this program, as reported in the GUIDON March 8, is being piloted on a military installation, I feel strongly that there are underlying issues that make providing a free breakfast to all children appalling.

Feeding 455 out of 532 children a free breakfast is not something to be proud of. To me, it’s blatant abuse of a service meant to assist those who cannot provide. I will address several comments made by the principal of the school, Dr. Sonya Campbell. The first is “one teacher mentioned ‘this is the first time all year that all my kids have been here. They are here on time —some usually don’t get here until 8:30 or 9 o’clock.’” This is not a food issue; this is a truancy issue and lack of parental responsibility. It is the parents’ responsibility to get their child to school on time. I live on post and my child goes to school on post. The school is open at 8 a.m., and children can go there whether or not they eat breakfast. I have worked with my supervisor so I can drop my child off at 8 a.m., and then go into work. If the parent dropping the child off is a stay-at-home parent: get up, get your child up, feed them, and get your child to school. If you live off post, leave earlier! The fix is not a free breakfast — it is enforcing already existing rules.    

The second comment is “Campbell said many times children won’t eat breakfast for a variety of reasons. One prominent reason is that sometimes parents say they can’t pay for it, but at the same time they don’t qualify for free or reduced breakfast.” This again is not a food issue; it is a budget and financial responsibility issue of the parents. The child is most likely in the school on post because a parent or guardian is in the military or government service. This is a failure of those individuals to prioritize their spending.

By William Buzinski
Special to GUIDON

Phish on!It’s that time of year again. The long winter chill is lifting, flowers are blooming, April is nearing, and the fish … I mean “Phish” are biting. That’s right, and by “Phish,” I mean “you,” Soldier.  

The tax season is here once again, and the cyber predators are well rested from a long winter’s break, hoping to add you as a feather in their cap.

The IRS is warning taxpayers to beware of unsolicited emails that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Suspicious emails attempting to get your personal information should be ignored. Bear in mind that the IRS would never request personal or financial info via email, nor would it request information from you by text message or social media sites.