IN THIS ISSUE |
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* Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report visit troops in Iraq.
* FOB Shank in Afghanistan gets a USO in a Box.
* America's Sweethearts go Red, White & You!
* Toby Keith on his 7th USO Tour.
* Operation USO Care Package on the Today Show.
* Plus, upcoming events.
Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, arrives in the Persian Gulf, June 2009.
USO Photo by Steve Manuel.
Actor, comedian, and best-selling author Stephen Colbert kicked off his weeklong USO entertainment tour in the Persian Gulf with the first of four special episodes of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report to be aired June 8, 2009.
The show is the first in USO history to be filmed and broadcast from a combat zone and is dedicated to U.S. troops serving in the Persian Gulf, as well as those stationed around the globe. The special broadcast is being taped before a live military audience in Al Faw Palace, Iraq.
Special guests on the show include President Barack Obama; Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general, Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I); Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., commanding general, MNF-I; Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Grippe, command sergeant major, MNF-I; Sgt. Robin Balcom, squad leader, 463rd Military Police Company; and Spc. Tareq Salha, Arabic linguist, 111th Military Intelligence Brigade.
Colbert — known for his deadpan comedic delivery — has accepted the title of “Mr. USO” saying, “It is truly an honor to be named Mr. USO, though to be honest, I’m a little disappointed I was not also named Ms. USO.”
Follow Colbert with the USO at a new interactive “Mr. USO” Web site — www.mruso.com — where users can find links to the show’s segments as well as exclusive photos and behind-the-scenes outtakes from the filming in Iraq.
The episodes, “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando,” air at 11:30 P.M. from June 8 to June 11. All proceeds from the sale of these four episodes on iTunes will directly benefit the USO and help support U.S. troops.
USO in a Box Grand Opening, FOB Shank, Afghanistan, Memorial Day 2009.
Courtesy Photo.
Troops at forward operating bases (FOBs) work in the roughest, most austere environments, meaning comforts and amenities are quite literally a world away.
That is why the USO is seeking to deliver a slice of comfort to troops at FOBs in Afghanistan through USO in a Box. The USO in a Box program converts expandable Tactical Operations Centers used by the military into USO centers that can be trucked or helo’ed into places that were previously out of reach.
Three are ready for final delivery, and the first arrived at FOB Shank, Afghanistan this past Memorial Day. USO in a Box is operational in 20 minutes, and provide troops with two Dell ruggedized laptop computers, three 23-inch flat screen televisions, three Xbox® video gaming systems, and two Internet phones. A movie theatre area inside the “Box” also features a 42-inch HD flat screen television with Dolby® surround sound.
“While we can’t build a USO center everywhere the troops serve, the USO in a Box program allows us to deliver much of the goodness of a fixed center,” said USO President Sloan Gibson. Watch the grand opening of the USO in a Box at FOB Shank here.
Learn how to make patriotic treats this summer with Red, White & You Sweethearts.
Photo courtesy of the New England Confectionery Company.
An All-American treat is on its way to our troops this summer.
Sweethearts®, the "official candy of love," has a new message for our military on their heart-shaped candies. "Red, White & You," Sweethearts will bear patriotic notes including "I (heart) USA," "Proud of U," and "Miss You."
"For more than a century, people have been passing along their sweet sentiments through Sweethearts Valentine's Day candies," said Jacqueline Hague, vice president of the New England Confectionery Company, the candy-maker. "Our new Red, White & You Sweethearts provide Americans with a new way of expressing their thanks and love to our troops with sweet reminders of home."
The USO is also including a Red, White & You Sweetheart pack in all USO care packages beginning in June. Please visit www.uso.org/sweethearts to learn more and for instructions on how to make a patriotic treat of your own. The sweets are available nationwide from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Toby Keith, on his seventh USO Tour, visits FOB Delaram, Afghanistan, April 23, 2009.
USO Photo by Dave Gatley.
Toby Keith and his band of brothers recently returned from a whirlwind 15-day tour of military bases in Afghanistan and Italy. His seventh USO tour, Keith performed at 13 FOBs and 2 COPs (Combat Outposts) in Afghanistan in five days in late April. As Keith said of the trip, “this tour is to pay respect and say thanks for knowing we have a military in place that’s ready to defend our nation and our freedom.” To read a daily account of Toby’s USO/AFE tour, please visit www.DefenseLink.mil, plus an in-depth profile of Toby Keith is featured in the summer issue of ON PATROL, the magazine of the USO, due out in mid-June.
Today Show Operation USO Care Package Stuffing Party in New York City with Brian Whiting and Al Roker.
USO Photo.
Ron Wise, the director of the Operation USO Care Package program, receives 20 to 30 letters per week from troops, just saying thanks.
“I’m humbled to be a part of this,” Wise said.
Operation USO Care Package — started by the USO after the military imposed stricter shipping standards during the anthrax scare in 2003 — ensures that troops get some of the hard-to-get comfort items from home such as free calling cards and hygiene products.
Wise and his team based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, continue to ship care packages to our military every day of the year and sometimes takes the program on the road — building an all volunteer network across the country. Wise most often sets up events for corporate sponsors, such as Jack Daniels, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin, and most recently at Rockefeller Center, New York, during NBC’s Today show.
While Wise insists that NBC did most of the work, he and his crew facilitated the huge stuffing party filmed live for national television. NBC’s Al Roker interviewed Brian Whiting, president of USO of Metropolitan New York, as stuffing volunteers braved the early morning hours to stuff a few more packages to the troops. President Obama and the Pittsburgh Steelers also lent a hand on May 21, as did members of Congress in early May.
A huge volunteering community — around 5,000 people per year — saves the program thousands and expands its reach exponentially. The program surpassed the 1.5 million packages mark last December, and now 2 million is in their sights.
Wise said those who haven’t done much volunteer work or been involved with the troops before find the experience especially rewarding. That’s why Wise will continue to travel cross-country, hosting events such as a Jack Daniel’s-sponsored stuffing party involving NASCAR in Bristol, Tennessee, and a Lockheed Martin event in New Orleans, Louisiana. Traveling to Bristol in August and New Orleans in December, and myriad other places in between, Operation USO Care Package just gets busier and busier, he said.
“It lights a fire under (new volunteers) to do more to support the troops,” Wise said. “It’s been non-stop and we’ve been loving it.” To learn more about the Operation USO Care Package program, click here.
- Don't forget to turn your dials to Comedy Central at 11:30 P.M. EST June 8-11 to watch “Operation Iraqi Stephen” as the USO brings The Colbert Report to the Persian Gulf. Logon to www.mruso.com for the inside scoop.
- Celebrate the Patriotic Six — happening now. The Patriotic Six is the six weeks between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Visit www.patrioticsix.com to learn more, download the Patriotic Six widget, and to test your knowledge of American history!
- On June 12 the USO of Metropolitan New York welcomes home the men and women of the 50th Brigade Combat Team in Trenton, New Jersey. For more information, please visit: www.usonyc.com.
- June 14 is the U.S. Army’s 234th birthday and Flag Day.
- For a list of USO centers located stateside, visit www.uso.org.
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