Greenfield to Sign Army Community Covenant

The City of Greenfield will sign a community covenant with the U.S. Army Milwaukee Recruiting Battalion at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The community covenant is a formal commitment of support by the city to soldiers and their families. The ceremony recognizes the strength of soldiers' families is supported by the strength of the Greenfield community.

Mayor Michael Neitzke will sign the community covenant as a city representative.

Retired Maj. Gen. Paul Lima, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Wisconsin; Col. Michael Hauser, commander of the U.S. Army 3rd Recruiting Brigade; and Lt. Col. Robert L. Cody II, commander of the U.S. Army Milwaukee Recruiting Battalion, will co-sign the document as leaders of the Army.

The Army program was launched April 17, 2008, with a signing ceremony in Columbus, Ga., with the Fort Benning community. Since then, more than 700 community covenants have been signed by community members in all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia. The program includes recognition of all service members and their families.

Content of the Greenfield Community Covenant:

The Department of the Army and City of Greenfield recognize:

• The commitment and increasing sacrifices that our military families are making every day.
• The strength of our service members comes from the strength of their families.

The Department of the Army is committed to:

• Providing soldiers and families quality of life that is commensurate with their service.
• Increasing accessibility and quality of health care.
• Improving accessibility of soldier and family leased housing.
• Improving effectiveness of family readiness groups.

The City of Greenfield is committed to:

• Enhancing service member and veteran access to higher education.
• Creating new initiatives and partnerships to expand services and support to Greenfield's service members and their families.
• Supporting legislation to improve transition services to service members and their families in Greenfield.