The Marion County (Tennessee) Food Bank is operated like a military unit.
There is a specific schedule that the all-volunteer group runs on, a detailed system that makes the operation run as smooth as possible and an understood chain of command from top to bottom.
On a recent sunny afternoon, as dozens of people came through the door, retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. Sandra Webb stood in the back room where cans of beans, boxes of granola bars, jars of peanut butter and countless other food items were stocked on shelves.
"It wasn't always like this," Webb, 68, said with a confident smile.
Since Webb took the lead at the Food Bank several years ago, donations and participants have increased significantly. A lot of that is due to Webb's devotion to giving back to her community and leading a group of dedicated volunteers.
Whether someone's known her for 20 years or 20 minutes, it's clear that nothing about Webb is ordinary.
Webb, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area in California, married her high school sweetheart, Kenneth Webb. He was born in Jasper, Tennessee, and was a covert pilot during Vietnam as well as a counter-terrorism technician.
One time he bet his wife, a mother to two young boys at the time, she couldn't make it through the Army's basic training.
She took him up on it.
"I went in at 32," Webb said. "My boys were 3 and 8 years old."
And what started as a bet turned into a decorated, nearly 30-year military career that changed the trajectory of her life.
Webb was deployed twice during her career. The first time was in 1989 for Operation Just Cause when the U.S. invaded Panama to overthrow politician and military official Manuel Noriega.
Although they didn't work side by side, the Webbs were both deployed for the same mission. He was working intelligence and she was working on a maintenance unit.
After the invasion, they were reunited.
(Read about other local veterans in our "21-Veteran Salute" series here)
Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Sandra Webb poses for a photo at Marion County Community Ministries Thursday, October 24, 2019 in Sequatchie, Tennessee. Webb is a U.S. Army veteran who served from 1983 until 2012. Webb now works a the Marion County Food Bank.BIO
Name: Sandra WebbAge: 68Branch of military: U.S. ArmyYears of service: 1983-2012
"That was the only time I let my husband hug me in uniform," Webb said.
The second time she was deployed was for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in 1990. Who else was deployed for that mission? Webb's oldest son, Howard.
The mother and son were both deployed to Saudi Arabia, where she worked again as a mechanic specialist repairing equipment up and down the main supply routes.
On three other occasions, she served with her younger son.
It's common for military service to run in families, but it's uncommon for that military experience to overlap in real time.
What Webb and her family were able to to do together is nearly unfathomable.
After Desert Storm, Webb went into the Reserve and she and her husband moved back to his hometown in Marion County. She was then assigned to the 3397th Garrison Support Unit in Chattanooga and served as the non-commissioned officer in charge of a finance section.
She worked to train soldiers for future deployments and made sure their lives were in order when it came to their finances back home.
She is adamant that all women should serve at least two years in the service to learn self-sufficient skills she believes are lost in today's generation: responsibility, perseverance and survival.
"Guts," she said. "It taught me I have the stamina and that I could take care of myself if something happens."
Since her retirement, Webb has stayed plenty busy. She holds a handful of volunteer positions - none bigger than running the three-day-a-week food bank in Marion County.
She's a proud member of VFW Post 6362 in Jasper and American Legion Post 92 in Dunlap. She helps put on the VFW parades in Marion County for Christmas, Veterans Day and the Fourth of July.
It's important to her that people honor veterans at this time of year. She also takes pride in flying the American flag all year round.
"I drive around everywhere I go with brand-new American flags in my truck," she said. "If I see a tattered flag in the county, I'll knock on their door and replace it."
Even in retirement, Webb service lives on.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.