COAST GUARD RECRUITS TO SPEND TIME WITH LOCAL FAMILIES FOR HOLIDAYS

The Coast Guard and American Red Cross will place more than 200 Coast Guard recruits with several dozen South Jersey families for Christmas as part of Operation Fireside Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. Thousands of recruits have spent Christmas with hundreds of volunteers from South Jersey since the Operation Fireside program was established in 1981. It allows recruits to celebrate the holiday with a host family while they’re separated from their loved ones during the arduous basic training program.