Operation Coffee
Organic “Battle Buddy Blend” (Ground):
About Operation Coffee
Start the conversation with a quality cup of coffee…
By founding Operation Coffee, Wisconsin veteran Sam Floyd (USMC) has truly found his mission. At first, after returning home in 2005 from a tour in Afghanistan, Floyd struggled to adjust to civilian life. Like many veterans navigating their post-military careers, he fought a battle for his mental health and at one point, contemplated taking his own life. Because of his experiences overseas, Floyd felt alienated from his friends and loved ones. Therefore he knew that in order to find happiness at home, rediscovering and pursuing a passion would be essential. That passion? Coffee.
Since Sam had had many impactful conversations over a cup of joe, he decided coffee itself would be his passion. These conversations became the seed for the blossoming idea that would save Floyd’s life — and potentially the lives of other veterans facing the same post-combat mental health challenges.
From the back of the package…
A Hero’s Story
Al Asad, Iraq, April in 2004. Recovering physically and mentally from a recent helicopter crash, I found myself in a pretty lonely spot in life. While transiting to a smaller outlying base, I stopped at Al Asad for a few days of preparation for my next assignment. I ran into a friend who had had a similar experience the year prior. “Let’s go to my office and have a cup of coffee,” he said casually. Heating the water in a pot, grinding the beans and prepping the French press, I sat there watching, thinking, “There is much more to this than a cup of coffee. This is a process, a gift – a gift of time and, ultimately, empathy and compassion.” That cup of coffee – black, steaming, perfect – was agape love in a mug.
– Mark Voelker, Maj USMC(Ret)
About the Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Thank you for visiting the Wisconsin Veterans Museum website! Since 2013 the WVM has been a proud Smithsonian Affiliate. In addition to award-winning exhibits and in-person events, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum has a strong online presence. Since 1993, the Museum has been located on Capitol Square in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. Prior to that time, the Museum was housed in a small room within the State Capitol building itself.
With Facebook posts and virtual programming, the Museum is able to reach a far broader audience than ever before. Our mission is simple: To acknowledge, commemorate, and affirm the role of Wisconsin veterans in the United States of America’s military past and present. The WVM is an educational activity of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs whose webpage can be found here. All purchases, both here online and in-person help us to fulfill our mission. Thank you.
In addition to coffee, we also sell tea from a veteran-owned company. Click here! https://store.wisvetsmuseum.com/product-category/rations/