MULTI-NATIONAL DIVISION – BAGHDAD
Media Release
HQ-MND Baghdad
Camp Liberty
Baghdad, Iraq
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070101-10 January
1, 2007
Former Chicago Bears
Football Star Leads New Year’s Eve Celebrity Visit to Loyalty
By Maj. Sean J. Ryan
2nd BCT, 2nd Infantry Division PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq –
While many people back home are preparing for the New Year going to parties
or getting ready to watch the ball drop in New York’s Times Square on
television, deployed Soldiers here were looking at another “Groundhog Day”
of missions. Fortunately, two former football stars, one current weatherman
and one television actress had another mission in mind – visiting Soldiers
over the holiday season.
FOB Loyalty, a small base camp in eastern Baghdad, was the last
stop on the two-day Morale, Welfare and Recreation-sponsored tour, but
easily the most anticipated. Soldiers from the 2nd “Strike Force” Brigade
Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division eagerly welcomed their first
distinguished visitors from the civilian world.
The welcomed guests included former football stars Jim McMahon
and Kevin Butler, actress Karri Turner of “JAG” fame and CBS “The Early
Show” weatherman Dave Price. Accompanying them were CBS cameraman Robert
Laforty and tour coordinator Judy Seale.
Soldiers not on missions came in droves to see two members of
what many experts call the best Super Bowl team in history, the 1985 Chicago
Bears. Jim McMahon, the brash and cocky former Brigham Young star, was the
free-spirit quarterback who gave new meaning to wearing sweatbands, as he
put them on his neck, elbows and forehead. McMahon said he was focused on
coming to Iraq for quite a while and felt privileged to be a part of the
tour and meet all the Soldiers.
While greeting Soldiers, McMahon was still wearing his trademark
sunglasses that many felt added to his cocky reputation as a player. In
reality, McMahon wears them for medical purposes, after severing his retina
at age 6 in an accident.
McMahon signed pictures, footballs and ensured all Soldiers who
wanted pictures with him received them. The former Comeback Player of the
Year and two-time Super Bowl champion said he was grateful for the
opportunity to see all the Soldiers and looked forward to returning.
Spc. Aaron Holker, a native of Minneapolis, and an admitted
Vikings fan, was excited despite the fact the two teams are division rivals.
Holker, a forward observer for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd
Brigade Combat Team, said it was great they are taking their time to support
the troops, and that it was a huge morale boost for everyone on the FOB.
The other member of “Da Bears” was former kicker Kevin Butler.
Butler, who starred at the University of Georgia, was a rookie on the 1985
team and the first and only kicker ever to be inducted into the College
Football Hall of Fame.
Butler said he was honored to get a chance to meet Soldiers and
see first hand their sacrifices. Butler’s son is one of the top place
kickers and punters in the nation at the high school level and said he was
amazed at the competence level of our young Soldiers only a year or two
older than his own son.
Butler, who played 13 seasons in the NFL, said he was amazed at
the progress the military has made in Iraq and felt proud of every Soldier
here. Both Butler and McMahon ensured everyone who took a picture with them
wore Butler’s Super Bowl ring which was a huge hit with the crowd.
Staff Sgt. Roy Jackson, a civil affairs noncommissioned officer,
said anytime somebody takes their time to come see troops is a big boost to
morale.
“It’s nice the stars make the time to come see us,” the
Rochester, N.Y., resident said.
The vivacious Turner, who played Lieutenant Harriet Sims Roberts
for nine seasons on the hit series “JAG,” is on her sixth tour overseas to
visit with troops. Turner broke into Hollywood after attending the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts and first signed on for the sitcom “Wild Oats.” She
later gained fame in her role in “JAG” and most recently appeared in two
episodes of the new series “Heroes.”
Turner said she is honored to spend time with troops and even
gives some proceeds from her on-line store to help families affected by the
war.
Price, the current weather anchor and reporter for the CBS’ “The
Early Show,” said he, too, is privileged to come to Iraq and visit the
troops. Price has a long resume in broadcasting after working in major
markets including Chicago and New York. His dog Chance is known to many in
the New York region as “Chance the Weather Dog.” Price said he is filled
with pride every time he sees and speaks with Soldiers. This is Price’s
second tour visiting troops. He also made a trip to Afghanistan his last
tour.
The dangerous missions will continue for the Soldiers of “Strike
Force,” but the visits to FOB Loyalty helped raise morale to new levels.
-30-
VIP’s with 2nd
IBCT Command Team
“Ringing in the New Year”
with the command team from the 2nd “Strike Force” Brigade Combat Team, 2nd
Infantry Division were a host of celebrity visitors at Forward Operating
Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad Dec. 31. The celebrity holiday visit
included Kevin Butler and Jim McMahon, both of the 1985 Super Bowl Champion
Chicago Bears, Karri Turner, of the TV show J.A.G., and CBS “The Early Show”
weatherman Dave Price. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki, 2nd BCT,
2nd Inf. Div. Public Affairs)
CBS “The Early
Show” High 5’s
CBS “The Early Show”
weatherman Dave Price high-fives with Cpt. Michael Fitzpatrick, both New
Jersey natives, during the “Ringing in the New Year Tour” Morale, Welfare
and Recreation-sponsored visit to Forward Operating Base Loyalty in east
Baghdad Dec. 31. Celebrities visited Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade
Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco
Suzuki, 2nd BCT, 2nd Inf. Div. Public Affairs)
“Da Bears”
Former football stars Jim
McMahon and Kevin Butler share a photo with Spc. Aaron Holker, a Vikings fan
from Minneapolis serving with the 2nd “Strike Force” Brigade Combat Team,
2nd Infantry Division, during the “Ringing in the New Year” celebrity tour
at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in east Baghdad Dec. 31. Both players
were part of the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears. (U.S. Army photo by
Maj. Sean J. Ryan, 2nd BCT, 2nd Infantry Division PAO)
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