This week in Fence Post we are recognizing some of our FSA veterans in honor of Veterans Day. These men and women come from every region of the United States and represent all branches of the armed forces. We say thank you to all of our veterans for your service to this country.
Rob Haughton works at USDA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Semper Fi ‘til the day I die. I served 26 years in the Marine Corps and retired with the rank of major.
The Marine Corps — what a life-changing experience. The corps transformed me into the man I am today. There’s no other camaraderie in the armed forces as that of the Marines. It’s a lifelong brotherhood. We are the few, the proud — the Marines!
Being a Marine is more than a slogan; it’s a way of life. The Marine Corps’ core values are honor, courage, commitment. Spend a few minutes with any Marine and you can see that they live by these values — even retired Marines.
As I traveled around the world serving our nation, I couldn’t help but feel patriotic. I still do. The sense of camaraderie that developed in the military is very hard to duplicate. You absolutely have a sense of belonging to something larger.
The military also provides an identity and a purpose for one’s being. To be honest, I had only planned on serving for four years, but I found my passion in the corps and the next thing you know I had made a career of it.
Marines are first and foremost riflemen. Honor, courage and commitment are the core values by which we live. Good day gladiators, my name is Victor Manuel Hernandez, but my real name is Marine.
As the harvest season comes to a close, the People’s Garden has a lot to be thankful for this year. Last week, the initiative’s "Share Your Harvest" effort passed the one million pound mark of fresh produce donated to local food banks and charities across the country. To date, the People’s Garden has donated 578,269 pounds of produce from gleaning and 513,717 pounds from gardens, for a total of 1,091,986 pounds. The produce collected this year came from 200 vegetable gardens and 30 gleaning projects. (USDA blog) 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked off its 150th anniversary yesterday in Illinois, the hometown of President Abraham Lincoln, who established the department in 1862. “USDA still fulfills President Lincoln's vision as ‘The People's Department’ — touching the lives of every American every day,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "As we commemorate 150 years, we will look for lessons from the past that can help us strengthen USDA in the future to address the changing needs of agriculture and rural America.” The official year-long celebration will launch in February 2012 during the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum, followed by activities held throughout the year, including an event in May to commemorate President Lincoln’s signing of the act to establish USDA and the July signing of the Morrill Act to establish public land grant universities. 
