The Corps of Engineers is dedicated to fostering the use of Corps recreation resources by Active, Retired and Reserve military/veterans and their families. Corps lakes and waterways are significant places for public physical activities and outdoor recreation, which contribute to improved health and well-being. Increased public awareness of Corps recreation programs, including increased awareness by Department of Defense and Armed Forces Commands, is a high priority of the Corps Recreation Strategy. In addition to working with Army MWR to identify complementary programs that meet the needs of both military families and the recreating public, the Corps is aggressively pursuing innovative ways to meet this national priority.

In support of this, I'd like to share with you an opportunity to participate this year in camp programs for children of military families. Operation Purple Camp is a program of the National Military Family Association (NMFA), in association with the Sierra Club, that provides free summer camps for military children. The goal of the camps is to impart the message that Kids Serve Too. The program aims to help military children of various ages learn coping skills which deal with deployment related stress, foster relationships with other military children in similar circumstances, and, most of all, have fun. This year, the NMFA will host more than 9,000 military children at Operation Purple camps in 62 locations in 37 states and territories. Information about specific camp locations is available at http://www.operationpurple.org.

I have attached a list of Camps that will be held this year with contact information for each Camp director, along with the corresponding nearest Corps Project. The following 17 Corps Projects are located within 100 miles of a Camp:

Pine Flat Lake         Lake Lanier         Lake Hartwell
Thurmond Lake         Lake Pend Oreille         Rend Lake
Taylorsville Lake         Lake Barkley         Smithville Lake
Tennessee-Tombigbee         Falls Lake         Caesar Creek Lake
Lake Texoma         Fern Ridge         Lake Shenango
Blue Marsh Lake         Proctor Lake

In 2008, Park Rangers Ben Davis and Mike Carter from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and Mobile Deputy District Engineer LTC Ronald Payne participated in an Operation Purple Camp sponsored by the Crows Neck Environmental Education Center http://www.crowsneck.org/. The attached information sheet describes Corps involvement last year, where we had a significant impact on the success of the Camp.

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the water safety, environmental education, and other programs you already have in place to support the kids of military families. To get involved, please contact the director of a camp near you.

Thanks for your attention to this valuable program.

Michael G. Ensch

Back to E-mails and Memos