Recently,British Royal Marines in Iraq, wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to let them know how much they liked their coffees, and to request that they send some of it to the troops there. Starbucks replied, telling the Marines thank you for their support of their business, but that Starbucks does not support the war, nor anyone in it, and that they would not send the troops their brand of coffee.Is this true? ............................................................................................. I have just received this copy of an e:-mail from Starbucks UK which clears this matter up. So well done Starbucks. ----- Original Message ----- From: "UK INFO - Customer Care Inbox" <UKInfo@starbucks.com>To: <pjohnson Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2008 2:51 PMSubject: Customer Care E-mail Reference: 266265 Our ref: 266265 04 November 2008 Dear Mr Johnson Recently, you may have heard mention of an old rumor concerning Starbucks support of military personnel. This rumor originated in the U.S. but has been modified and is now circulating throughout the UK. On behalf of Starbucks more than 160,000 dedicated partners (employees), we wanted to set the record straight. This rumor is not, and never has been, true. It refers to false information contained in an email that originated in 2004. At that time, Starbucks contacted its author, a Marine Sergeant who subsequently sent an e-mail to his original distribution list correcting his mistake, the text of which is: "Dear Readers, Almost 5 months ago I sent an e-mail to you my faithful friends. I did a wrong thing that needs to be cleared up. I heard by word of mouth about how Starbucks said they didn't support the war and all. I was having enough of that kind of talk and didn't do my research properly like I should have. This is not true. Starbucks supports men and women in uniform. They have personally contacted me and I have been sent many copies of their company's policy on this issue. So I apologize for this quick and wrong letter that I sent out to you. Now I ask that you all pass this email around to everyone you passed the last one to. Thank you very much for understanding about this. Howard C. WrightSgt USMC1st Force Rcon Co1st Plt PLT RTOdated: August 17, 2004" Additionally confirmation that this is an inaccurate rumor can be found at:http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2004/n11092004_2004110908.htmlhttp://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/starbucks2.htmhttp://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/starbucks-iraq.htmhttp://www.aMillionThanks.orghttp://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asphttp://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/rumor.asp We hope this helps put this rumor to rest, so that it no longer distracts from the many outstanding demonstrations of support our partners have made on their own and together. A few examples of their generosity include: . Each week Starbucks partners receive one free pound of coffee. On an individual, grass roots level, many partners in the U. S. have collected their free coffee and shipped thousands of pounds of Starbucks coffee overseas. . Partners in our Atascadero, California store sent their personal weekly allotment of coffee to troops in Afghanistan so they would be able to enjoy a little taste of home. . Our customer relations department in Seattle donated hundreds of pounds of coffee to the sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier. Starbucks, our customers and our partners respect the efforts of the U.S. men and women who serve their country in the military - including our fellow partners who serve. On Sept. 21, 2006, Starbucks was honored with the Freedom Award during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. This is the highest award bestowed by the Department of Defense to an employer and recognizes those companies that provide exceptional support to employees who voluntarily serve the nation in the National Guard and Reserve. Starbucks employs many partners who serve in the military and are currently on active duty. In support of their efforts, Starbucks provides a supplement to make up the difference between their military pay and their pay level at Starbucks before they went on leave. The partner can continue health coverage, and family health coverage, if enrolled, for up to 18 months. Partners are guaranteed a position upon return from active duty, except in rare circumstances, as permitted under the Federal Military Leave Laws; additionally, tenure at Starbucks is also kept while on active duty. To enhance our U.S. partners' efforts in support of U.S. military troops, Starbucks is honored to extend our relationship with the American Red Cross in order to provide more coffee to relief efforts during times of conflict. On multiple occasions, Starbucks has donated a total of more than 100,000 lbs of coffee to the American Red Cross for distribution to those troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. Thank you again for writing. We ask you to accept our deepest appreciation to servicemen and women and we hope that you will remain a valued Starbucks customer. Yours sincerely Joanne Barker Customer Care Specialist