Military
athletes honored on cereal box
FORT LEE, Va. – Military athletes will soon make “cereal
history.” The Armed Forces Sports Office has teamed with
corporate partner General Mills to honor five armed forces
athletes on a 2003 commemorative Cheerios box. Army, Marine
Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard athletes are featured on
the boxes, which include action shots and short biographies of
the athletes outlining their accomplishments.
The
special boxes will be found exclusively in commissaries
worldwide during September, or while supplies last.
“This
box is an exciting partnership for the Armed Forces Sports
Program,” said Suba Saty, Armed Forces Sports secretariat.
“The box recognizes more than the five athletes on the box -
it recognizes the accomplishments of all armed forces
athletes!”
“One
of our main goals is to bring visibility to the Armed Forces
Sports Program and the accomplishments of our athletes,” said
Rob Hansgen, also of Armed Forces Sports.
The
featured athletes will sign autographs and talk to shoppers
during appearances at their “hometown” commissary, or near
where they are training for competition, in late August or
September. Appearances are scheduled at commissaries at Fort
Carson, Colo., Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich.,
Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, N.J., Marine Corps
Base, Quantico, Va., Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Los Angeles
Air Force Base.
Soccer
star and Air Force Female Athlete of the Year Kristy Kuhlman’s
appearance at Los Angeles Air Force Base commissary is timed for
Sept. 6 to coincide with the kickoff of the cereal
box celebrity
Defense
Commissary Agency’s third annual “Worldwide Case Lot
Sale.” According to Store Director Art Wescott, “This will
really generate a lot of excitement. We’re thrilled to have a
local athlete on a cereal box featured in the commissary.”
Kuhlman
said, “Appearing on the Armed Forces commemorative Cheerios
box is going to be a very surreal experience for me. I am
grateful for the support the military gives its athletes and the
opportunity to compete in armed forces, national and
international competitions.”
“The
men and women who participate in the Armed Forces Sports Program
while still maintaining a full-time military career should be an
inspiration to us all,” said Mike Goetzmann, senior
development manager for General Mills.
Featured
on the cereal boxes:
Marine
1st Sgt. Douglas Marocco, a senior enlisted advisor at Marine
Corps Base, Quantico, Va. In addition to his many military
duties, Marocco is one of the armed forces’ top triathletes
competing in national and international championships throughout
the year. Marocco is a former Armed Forces and two-time Marine
Corps Athlete of the Year.
Navy
Lt. j.g. Henry Nuzum, is a Tomahawk missile officer and recently
served aboard the USS John S. McCain. Nuzum, who competed in the
2000 Olympic Games in rowing, is now assigned to Navy Recruiting
in Philadelphia, and is focused on making the 2004 Olympic team.
Air
Force 2nd Lt. Kristy Kuhlman, a contracting officer at the Space
and Missile Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base. Kuhlman is a
2001 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.,
and currently holds numerous women’s soccer records at the
academy. She was named most valuable player at the 2002 World
Military Women’s Soccer Championship and is the reigning 2002
Female Athlete of the Year for the Air Force.
Coast
Guard Aviation Maintenance Technician Steven Mlujeak, stationed
at the Coast Guard Air Station in Detroit. In his off-duty time,
Mlujeak is one of the armed force’s top cyclists, placing
first among military competitors in the 2000 Olympic trials. He
currently is training for the 2004 Olympic trials.
Army
Sgt. Dremiel Byers, a supply specialist and member of the U.S.
Army World Class Athlete Program in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Byers was crowned the 2002 Greco Roman Wrestling champion (264
lbs.) and won the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. Byers was named the
2002 Male Athlete of the Year for the Army and is now training
to make the 2004 Olympic team.
