Knee Deep in the Hooah!

Never heard of such a thing. What next? Sailors who make donuts? Airmen who make Croissants? Army Soldiers who make… who make… Hmm, I can’t come up with one for that.

Look at this article:

Coffee corps: Retired Marine starts Lawrence-based line of brews to support military

By Sarah Henning
September 23, 2009
LJWolrd.com

EXCERPT

Hank Salmans has always loved coffee. He loves it so much, in fact, that as a Marine stationed far from Lawrence, he strained grounds through a sock to get his fix.

Though he’s retired the sock-filter method, he’s kept his love of coffee and combined it with his love of the Marine Corps to create the Lawrence-based Devil Dog Brew.

“I’m very passionate about coffee, and I’m very passionate about the Marine Corps,” Salmans says. “It just seemed like a great match.”

Since its inception in 2007, Devil Dog Brew and its sister label, Sniper’s Brew, has been sold around the world, sponsored military-affiliated events and donated proceeds to charitable organizations benefiting military and law enforcement.

“If you serve in the Marine Corps for 21 years and you understand things like honor, courage and commitment, when you get out of the Marine Corps, how do you continue that feeling of doing something that’s a worthwhile endeavor, or a worthwhile pursuit?” Salmans says. “Whatever you do, I think you have to have passion.”

Barons Brothers

Salmans retired from the corps in 2005 after a career that took him around the world, saw him reach the rank of major and become what the Marines call a “mustang” — a soldier who has been both an officer and an enlisted member of the military.

He ended his career as the company commander and executive officer of a battalion of about 800 Marines and their families. When he retired and moved back to Lawrence and his family, the first thing he thought of was how he could help the people he commanded during his former life.

So the giving started in 2007. That’s when Salmans teamed with his adoptive brother, J.R. Lewis, to form Barons Brothers, an export/import company designed to buy coffee. The original goal for the company was to supply coffee to military bases in the commissary system while giving a portion of the proceeds to military charities. Members of both the Lewis family and Salmans’ birth family have a long history in the military, and the family is proud of its servicemen.

With the family in mind, Salmans and Lewis cooked up Devil Dog Brew, coming up with a name that nodded to the Marines, nicknamed “teufel hunden,” or devil dogs, by the Germans during World War II. With the company set up, beans in from Panama — where Salmans was stationed and has family — a roaster in place and flavors determined, the company was ready hit military bases. But there was a snag in the company’s initial goals — rules stipulate that a brand must be an established product on the civilian commercial market before landing on base.

So the Devil Dog and Sniper’s brews hit the retail market online and in stores, including Checkers Foods, 2300 La., which is owned by their parents, Jim and Linda Lewis. Checkers sells 600 bags a month, the average order at www.devildogbrew.com is $59 each, and both labels have just been picked up for distribution by Kansas City-based Paris Brothers.

“I told Hank that I thought we’d be well-received in the store, and I was right. It surprised my brother just a bit because originally he thought the appeal would be greatest with communities by military bases,” Lewis says.

This year, coffee lovers on base are finally getting Devil Dog Brew available there, though it’s not in the full commissary system yet. The brew has been picked up by a military distribution company and is available both at private on-base stores and at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Giving back

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/sep/23/c…awrence-based-/
****