Thursday, July 28 2011 12:32 PM EDT2011-07-28 17:32:48 GMT
For local flavor, WTVM talked with a Columbus soldier about his life as a brat. Lt. Gen. Bill Caldwell, whose father spent his career in the Army, now heads up the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan. More >>
Thursday, July 21 2011 9:45 AM EDT2011-07-21 13:45:24 GMT
Whatever you do, try to avoid the words ‘mess hall' when discussing the buildings at Fort Benning where food is served. Marshall Fowler says that phrase is part of your father's Army.
Friday, March 22 2013 5:43 PM EDT2013-03-22 21:43:06 GMT
Just as colleges invite high school football recruits to visit their campuses, the military has a similar program.More >>
Just as colleges invite high school football recruits to visit their campuses, the military has a similar program. It's called The Army Strong Experience, a chance for young people to find out what the military is all about. More >>
Thursday, March 14 2013 3:31 PM EDT2013-03-14 19:31:31 GMT
It's well documented that the Army trains new recruits when they enter the service, but it may surprise you that soldiers are also given training as they plan to leave the military.More >>
It's well documented that the Army trains new recruits when they enter the service, but it may surprise you that soldiers are also given training as they plan to leave the military.More >>
Thursday, January 31 2013 11:09 AM EST2013-01-31 16:09:20 GMT
If you see a smile on the faces of Fort Benning family members, there's a reason why: their loved ones are getting ready to come home from the Middle East.More >>
If you see a smile on the faces of Fort Benning family members, there's a reason why: their loved ones are getting ready to come home from the Middle East.More >>
Wednesday, January 16 2013 6:43 PM EST2013-01-16 23:43:55 GMT
A number of soldiers at Ft. Benning, GA planned a ski trip this weekend in east Tennessee. Too bad it's not going to happen. "Unfortunately the weather hasn't really cooperated with us", says BrittanyMore >>
The troops have gone whitewater rafting, ridden a zip line, even taken in a baseball game in Atlanta.More >>
Monday, May 20 2013 4:41 PM EDT2013-05-20 20:41:04 GMT
The proposed property tax that will fund the creation of a new state-of-the-art high school in Auburn will now be left to the citizen's vote. "We're probably looking at an election not before September.More >>
The proposed property tax that will fund the creation of a new state-of-the-art high school in Auburn will now be left to the citizen's vote.More >>
Monday, May 20 2013 4:27 PM EDT2013-05-20 20:27:09 GMT
A Columbus-area pastor is trying a huge physical challenge to help raise money for a mission in Africa. Pastor Jay Bailey, from Solid Rock Church in Midland, and church member Bud Allen have joined More >>
A Columbus-area pastor is trying a huge physical challenge to help raise money for a mission in Africa. Pastor Jay Bailey, from Solid Rock Church in Midland, and church member Bud Allen have joined four other people on a 750 mile bike ride across Africa.More >>
Monday, May 20 2013 3:28 PM EDT2013-05-20 19:28:02 GMT
It's a battle that Talbot County residents along Highway 208 say they've been complaining about for years. They say John Weaver can't afford to feed his horses, so he lets them starve to death. An openMore >>
It's a battle that Talbot County residents along Highway 208 say they've been complaining about for years. They say John Weaver can't afford to feed his horses, so he lets them starve to death. An openMore >>
Monday, May 20 2013 3:26 PM EDT2013-05-20 19:26:02 GMT
Before you know it, school will be out and parents will be looking for things for their kids to do. We compiled a list of nine things to do in Columbus this summer for kids.More >>
Before you know it, school will be out and parents will be looking for things for their kids to do. We compiled a list of nine things to do in Columbus this summer for kids.More >>
By Chuck Leonard
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) - Stars and stripes can be found on more than just flags. Military uniforms also carry them as insignia. But what's a soldier to do if he or she loses one? They can always get a replacement at a specialty store in Columbus, which has been serving the military for almost 50 years.
Paul Voorhees was a teenager when his father started Ranger Joe's at the corner of 10th and Broadway. Back then it was called Columbus Army Surplus, but a friendly colonel changed all that.
"We sold him some uniforms and he got to liking my dad", says Voorhees, "...and before it was over he was calling him Joe." That's right, he began calling Jack Voorhees, Joe, and he wasn't alone. "Not long after that the Rangers from 3rd Ranger Company were coming down here to talk to us, and they were calling him Joe. So that's how the store got the name Ranger Joe's, which was between 1963 and '65."
Voorhees says parking was always a problem downtown, so in 1976 Ranger Joe's relocated to Victory Drive. Business went through the roof!
"It's an institution, "says Maj. John Roscoe, a member of the Georgia Army National Guard. "I mean, since day-one of basic training. I left Bravo right here at Fort Benning and this is where you came when you got a chance to get off duty to get uniforms done and uniforms sewed on."
Ask anyone connected to Fort Benning, and they'll you tell that Ranger Joe's is the go-to store for military stuff. Soldiers come for all sorts of items, Ranger tabs, American flags, and the sales staff is glad to help. Some are even envious, like training coordinator Robert Scroggs.
"This is like a toy store in a sense, a lot of the guys come in here, you know. They just have to keep the paychecks away from their wives, so they can buy stuff."
The store does well with its foot traffic, but most of those "paychecks" are being spent by online customers and catalog shoppers. Voorhees says, seventy-percent of his business now is mail-order. "We sell things around the world. Sometimes we have a thousand customers a day." In fact, he calls his distribution center on Farr Road the best kept secret in Columbus.
What's not a secret is his love for the community and for the men and women in uniform. The soft-spoken Voorhees, who is an ordained minister, wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to the military. "God was at His best when he created the American soldier."
Monday, May 20 2013 3:28 PM EDT2013-05-20 19:28:02 GMT
It's a battle that Talbot County residents along Highway 208 say they've been complaining about for years. They say John Weaver can't afford to feed his horses, so he lets them starve to death. An openMore >>
It's a battle that Talbot County residents along Highway 208 say they've been complaining about for years. They say John Weaver can't afford to feed his horses, so he lets them starve to death. An openMore >>
Monday, May 20 2013 3:00 PM EDT2013-05-20 19:00:13 GMT
A Columbus woman reported to police on Sunday that she'd been sexually assaulted inside her apartment. According to the report, the incident happened Friday at 11:00 p.m. on Enoch Drive. The complaintMore >>
A Columbus woman reported to police on Sunday that she'd been sexually assaulted inside her apartment. More >>
Monday, May 20 2013 11:20 AM EDT2013-05-20 15:20:54 GMT
Have you seen "Molly?"She's popular, illegal, and very dangerous; although her name sounds innocent, she's far from it. You find her in clubs, music, and right here in the Chattahoochee Valley.More >>
Have you seen "Molly?"She's popular, illegal, and very dangerous; although her name sounds innocent, she's far from it. You find her in clubs, music, and right here in the Chattahoochee Valley. We set out to find "Molly" and expose her for what she really is.More >>
Experts say the officer who killed a Long Island college student and a home invasion suspect on Friday was confronted with a split-second choice.More >>
The godfather of a New York college student accidentally killed by a police bullet says the officer should have negotiated instead of firing as an armed intruder held the young woman hostage.More >>
Monday, May 20 2013 4:27 PM EDT2013-05-20 20:27:09 GMT
A Columbus-area pastor is trying a huge physical challenge to help raise money for a mission in Africa. Pastor Jay Bailey, from Solid Rock Church in Midland, and church member Bud Allen have joined More >>
A Columbus-area pastor is trying a huge physical challenge to help raise money for a mission in Africa. Pastor Jay Bailey, from Solid Rock Church in Midland, and church member Bud Allen have joined four other people on a 750 mile bike ride across Africa.More >>
A national atheist group says it will place its literature in cabins and lodges in Georgia's state parks after the governor's recent decision to allow Bibles in them.More >>
A national atheist group said Monday that it will donate its literature for use in cabins and lodges in Georgia's state parks after the governor's recent decision to allow Bibles there.More >>
Monday, May 20 2013 3:10 PM EDT2013-05-20 19:10:07 GMT
Lake Bottom Park in Columbus was the scene of an expansive art fair with activities for all ages over the weekend. Painters and sculptors set up tents filled with their best work, hoping to catch the eyesMore >>
Lake Bottom Park in Columbus was the scene of an expansive art fair with activities for all ages over the weekend. Painters and sculptors set up tents filled with their best work, hoping to catch the eyes of patrons. More >>
It could be an anxious wait of up to two months for people in a small Florida city to find out who won the highest Powerball jackpot in history: an estimated $590.5 million.More >>
It could be an anxious wait of up to two months for people in a small Florida city to find out who won the highest Powerball jackpot in history: an estimated $590.5 million.More >>
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