A better night’s sleep for Fort Knox soldiers, courtesy of Tempur-Pedic and the American Red Cross

By Kevin Sandell, American Red Cross Volunteer

A good night's rest is a proven way to improve health and wellness. It’s especially imperative for U.S. service members as they serve and protect America at locations around the world.

Capt. Kyle Hinzman, commander of the 34th and 905th Military
Police Detachments on Fort Knox, secures a new mattress
atop a vehicle at the American Red Cross’ Warrior Warehouse
on post, Feb. 9. 

Tempur-Pedic and the American Red Cross Kentucky Region partnered to donate 80 new mattresses to U.S. service members and families stationed at Fort Knox, the large U.S. Army post south of Louisville. The in-kind donation from the Lexington, Ky.-based mattress manufacturer allowed soldiers and families in need to receive a new mattress at the Red Cross Warrior Warehouse on post. A group of military police soldiers stationed at Fort Knox even helped load the mattresses into each vehicle waiting in line.

For Yvonne Plough, the Red Cross’ Volunteer Engagement Lead at the Warrior Warehouse, seeing soldiers volunteer to help those in need is a tangible way to pay it forward. “[This is] soldiers helping soldiers. We all had a consideration at one point where we needed help, so when we receive help, we should give it forward,” Plough said.

Tempur-Pedic donated the queen-sized mattresses to the American Red Cross to distribute to service members or their families on Fort Knox, and has done so for several years, according to John Matthews, a Red Cross Senior Regional Program Specialist. The Red Cross works with unit chaplains and commanders to nominate enlisted service members E-6 and below in their units to receive a new mattress. Soldiers in the paygrades of E-1 to E-4 are junior enlisted service members, and soldiers in the paygrades of E-5 to E-6 are noncommissioned officers who typically manage junior enlisted service members in day-to-day operations. Each nominated soldier must verify they will not resell the mattresses, nor will they receive more than one mattress per year. 

Soldiers from the 34th and 905th Military Police Detachments
at Fort Knox, Ky. haul new mattresses from inside the
American Red Cross Warrior Warehouse, Feb. 9.

According to a Tempur-Pedic press release from January 2023, the company has donated more than 228,000 mattresses to charities since 2011, including veterans homes and military bases, homeless shelters, fire stations, and the American Red Cross.

A group of eight soldiers from the post’s 34th Military Police Detachment and the 905th Military Working Dog Detachment volunteered to help move the mattresses from inside the warehouse and load them into each waiting vehicle. For 1st Lt. Davis Johns, the Executive Officer for both detachments, the chance to volunteer with the Red Cross helps others understand their profession better.

“I feel like it’s part of our job being military police,” Johns said. “Our job is to protect and serve the people of the installation, and this is just one of the ways we can do that, even if it’s not in a law enforcement capacity.”

The commander of both detachments, Capt. Kyle Hinzman, said many of the detachments’ soldiers have volunteered with previous Red Cross volunteer opportunities on post, and relished the chance to do so again distributing mattresses. He said at least four soldiers in the unit have earned the military’s Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal in the last two years for their volunteerism efforts.

Soldiers with the 34th and 905th Military Police Detachments
at Fort Knox, Ky., load a mattress into a waiting vehicle during
 a free mattress distribution event at Fort Knox, Feb. 9.

“Doing something like this gives a [better] view that we can be part of positive support to the community as opposed to just showing up at someone’s house when they’re having a really bad day,” Hinzman said.

As she and the other soldiers loaded mattresses into vehicles, Staff Sgt. Joann Cassitty, an operations noncommissioned officer with the 34th MP Detachment, said she and her soldiers are “always ready to help.” She called the American Red Cross’ programs on Fort Knox “amazing,” and wished that every installation had comparable services.

By day’s end, all 80 mattresses were claimed - tied onto vehicle roofs or slid into trunks, much to the visible satisfaction of those receiving one.