The McGladrey Classic Welcomes Active and Retired Military

/PRNewswire/ -- The McGladrey Classic announces that all active and retired military personnel will receive free admission to this official PGA TOUR event. The inaugural tournament, held Oct. 6-10, 2010, will be played at the Seaside course at Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia's Golden Isles.

"We appreciate the great sacrifices that our military personnel make to protect the safety and freedom of all Americans, and we want these men and women to have an opportunity to watch some of the greatest golfers on the PGA TOUR," said McGladrey Classic Executive Director Mark Love.

A special hospitality venue, The McGladrey Military Outpost provided by title sponsor McGladrey, will be located near the 9th green. Active and retired military simply need to show their military ID card to gain free entry to the tournament.

"It is a great honor to be able to host members of our military at the first McGladrey Classic," said C.E. Andrews, president and chief operating officer of RSM McGladrey. "We look forward to The McGladrey Military Outpost becoming one of the great traditions of our annual event."

Attendees will have a chance to watch Team McGladrey members Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, and Chris DiMarco, among many other PGA TOUR professionals compete in the tournament.

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Sports Celebrities Entertain Troops in Afghanistan

Photo: Former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula, center, poses for a photo with a group of servicemembers at the Pat Tillman USO on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, July 15, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Greenberger

Celebrities stopped by [BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan] Wednesday to entertain troops as part of the star-studded USO's Summer Troop Visit.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the celebrities are travelling throughout the U.S. Central Command area of operations to thank troops for their service and sacrifice.

The celebrities include actors Bradley Cooper and D.B. Sweeney, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn, National Football League Hall of Famer Don Shula, and sports commentator and model Leeann Tweeden.

The group's first stop was aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier currently under way in the Gulf of Oman. From the floating airport to the sands of Iraq to the hills of Afghanistan, the stars accompanying Mullen said they were excited about entertaining the troops deployed overseas.

"We feel like we want to give something back," said Shula, a well-known former Miami Dolphins coach. "We appreciate so much what our troops do, and we wanted to do something in return."

Travelling to different locations presents logistical challenges. Travel in Afghanistan is dangerous, and some of the outposts are so remote, the only way to reach them is by helicopter.

"The hardest part is getting the talent out to where they have to go," said Army Capt. Dena De Lucia, deputy chief of quality-of-life programs for U.S. Forces Afghanistan.

"Getting to remote [forward operating bases] means getting helicopters, and we got lucky this time because the 82nd Airborne graciously gave us two to use," De Lucia said.

Planning these types of trips can be as harrowing as planning an air-assault mission.

"It takes weeks and months in advance to plan something like this," De Lucia said. "It's a very arduous process. You have to contact camps and make sure they can support the visit, and make sure you can get to where they need to go."

Travelling throughout Afghanistan was difficult for the USO tour, but well worth it to both the troops they visited and the stars themselves.

"All of the places we go are really important, but the smaller locations are very austere, where they don't have hot showers or necessarily a hot meal every day," said Rachel Tischler, USO entertainment operations vice president. "So it's very special to bring that touch of home to those people that don't necessarily have those creature comforts."

Many of the hundreds that lined up outside the Pat Tillman USO here yesterday were delighted that the stars could break away from busy schedules to visit them.

"It's great to have the support of celebrities over here," Army Sgt. Linnea Biniak said. "Them being here and showing support for the troops definitely raises morale."

Inside the USO building, which is named for Pat Tillman, the ex-NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan in 2004, the visiting celebrities struggled to give adequate attention to the servicemembers who had come to see them.

Rather than stay indoors, the stars decided to "walk the line" outside, where they could meet with more people and make sure everyone who came to see them received an autograph or personal photo.

In addition to the "grip and grins" pictures, ssome soldiers were given the opportunity to talk personally with celebrities. Army Spc. Jonathan Grizzard asked Sweeney about several of his films, including "Fire in the Sky," a 1993 film in which Sweeney plays a man abducted by aliens.

"That was the sweetest experience I'd ever had," Grizzard said. "I waited almost an hour, but I would have waited two hours -- it was totally worth it!"

"I've got several movies that people really responded to, and it's very flattering for people to bring up a movie that's 10 years old and talk about specific scenes," Sweeney said. "I kind of get to relive the process of making it, and it underscores what I think my role as an entertainer is, to help people forget their jobs for a little while and get through the day a little easier."

Elsewhere in the line, football fans shook hands and "mugged" with Dunn. Iraqi war veterans swapped stories with Tweeden from her last trip overseas.

Cooper was a big draw following his most recent hit film, "The Hangover."

Meanwhile, inside the building, Shula shared his most memorable moments with diehard sports fans eager for a glimpse of his Super Bowl ring and to get his autograph on their footballs.

Staying until well after 10 p.m., the stars made sure everyone had gotten what they'd come for before finally packing it in to prepare for another day of travelling to more Afghan locations the following day.

"It's amazing for them to come out here and represent the United States," said Air Force Master Sgt. Raymond Stone. "Not many people come out here, and I think it's great that they do it. They've got other things that they have to do, yet they've taken the time to come out here and show their support to us."

(Author Army Capt. Michael Greenberger is assigned to the 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)
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America Supports You: Tiger's Tournament Salutes Military

Professional golfer Tiger Woods understands the sacrifices military families make and the importance of acknowledging those sacrifices.

"I was raised in a military family," said Woods, whose late father, Earl, retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel. "I know what it takes, the dedication it takes. They don't get enough thanks. And we're here to do that. We're here to say thank you."

He will say "thank you," this Fourth of July holiday when he hosts the second AT&T National golf tournament at Congressional Country Club here.

"We're trying to do whatever we can to showcase the military and basically give thanks," Woods said in an interview before the news conference.

This year that includes making 30,000 tickets available to servicemembers. Active-duty troops, reservists and National Guardsmen, retired servicemembers, and Defense Department civilian personnel are eligible for two tickets per person per day of the July 2-July 6 tournament.

The tournament also is offering a one-time 10 percent discount on merchandise, though the discount does not apply at Congressional Golf Shop adjacent to the clubhouse, however. In addition, each day will be dedicated to one of the five services.

Honoring the military and their families doesn't stop there, Woods said.

Twenty-five military children will accompany Woods to the first tee July 2, where two of them will take ceremonial first shots. But not before servicemembers deployed overseas have taken their swings.

Nike has provided drivers and golf balls that are being shipped to six military locations around the globe. A servicemember at each location will hit the ball, which will then be returned along with video of those shots.

Woods, who has a great respect for the military, said his father, and the military values he adhered to, have greatly shaped both his view of family and his direction in life. He's taken that to heart at home as well as on a global scale, hoping to be the same kind of father for his daughter, Samantha, that Earl Woods was to him.

"Family comes first," Woods said in the pre-conference interview. "My dad ... always made time for me. I'm looking back upon that, [and] that shaped me in the fact that I want to be there for Sam all the time," he said.

His dad also taught him about success, being a leader, and the responsibilities that come with that role. That lesson was the foundation upon which he and his father created the Tiger Woods Foundation in 1996.

"My dad, I won't say pushed me, but he always made sure I understood what it took to be a leader, the responsibilities you have to accept -- and sometimes it's not always easy," Woods said. "That's hard for kids to understand who have never experienced it before."

This lack of leadership and role models for children is not just a local phenomenon, he said. It's global.

"We have so many people around this world who need help, and we're going to do that," he said.

The foundation already has helped 10 million children through its character-development programs, scholarships, grants, junior golf teams, and the Tiger Woods Learning Center. And the gratitude he receives from the kids who are helped by the foundation is his greatest reward, he said.

"Golf is just what I do. It's not who I am," Woods said. "Having kids write letters and say, 'Thank you. I'm going to college. I'm doing things that I never thought I could do in my life,' gives me chills just thinking about it. That's the impact that everyone should have in life."

Proceeds from the 2008 AT&T National will benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation and its desire to expand its programs to the greater Washington area. The hope is to continue positively impacting the lives of future generations for years to come, according to a statement on the AT&T National site.

Fans can affect lives, as well. When purchasing a ticket on the AT&T National Web site, they can choose to make a donation to one of six charitable organizations benefiting military families.

Proceeds from the "Click and Donate Program" will be equally distributed among the Fisher House Foundation, Military Officers of America's Scholarship Fund, National Military Family Association, Our Military Kids, United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington, and Yellow Ribbon Fund.

All six organizations are supporters of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. The title sponsor of the tournament, AT&T, is a corporate supporter of the Defense Department program, as well.

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service