For the ninth consecutive year, Soldiers in Camp Shelby’s 177th Armored Brigade, “Spearhead Brigade,” are giving back to the community where they live, work, and raise their families while stationed at Camp Shelby. The Spearhead Brigade is composed of both active duty and reserve Soldiers who serve as advisors and coaches for many of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve units throughout the southeastern United States.
As part of their regular Army physical training, Soldiers participate in a weighted foot march, also known as a ruck march. On November 18, many members of the Spearhead Brigade are choosing to bypass a traditional packing list or weight in their backpacks and instead carry canned food to donate to the Edwards Street Fellowship Center food pantry. Canned food donations are dropped off at the march’s halfway mark, the Clyde Depot Station on the Longleaf Trace.
Soldiers will gather at the Jackson Road Station of the Longleaf Trace before 6:45 a.m. on November 18. The ruck march will kick off at 7:00 a.m. with participants marching or running to the Clyde Depot Station. Representatives from the Edwards Street Fellowship Center food pantry will be waiting at the Clyde Depot Station to receive the participants’ nonperishable food donations.
Ann McCullen, Executive Director of the Edwards Street food pantry, appreciate the support of the many 177th Armored Brigade Soldiers who choose to donate food during the annual ruck march. “This event is always heartwarming as we watch men and women who serve our nation year-round do even more by providing food for our community,” McCullen states. “However, this year’s ruck march is even more meaningful as these soldiers, who have encountered extra stress in recent weeks due to the federal government shutdown, are taking care of food-insecure neighbors.”
The Edwards Street food pantry typically provides emergency and supplemental food to around 2,000 households each month from a seven-county area of the Pine Belt. McCullen explains, “With so many more families affected right now by government furloughs and the pause in SNAP benefits, we’re serving twice as many people as usual, so we’re especially thankful for this year’s ruck march food drive. The generosity displayed by 177th Armored Brigade’s Soldiers is truly remarkable!”
According to Col. Nicholas Talbot of the 177th Brigade, “Soldiers are volunteers by nature; it’s at the core of what we do. It is our privilege to give back to the community where we live, and where many of our family members work and attend school. The Spearhead Brigade is honored to help make a difference for people in the Hattiesburg area who are struggling the basic necessity of nutritious food, and we appreciate the work that Edwards Street Fellowship Center Food Pantry puts in to host this food drive in a way that gives us an opportunity to give back to the community each year.”
In previous ruck march food drives, Soldiers of the 177th Brigade were accompanied by their family members, friends, and canines on the 10K march. The ruck march food drive is a free event; no registration is required, and the public is invited to participate by walking or running the route on November 18.
