Military Outreach
The Dallas Cowboys support military members of past and present during the month of Veterans Day and throughout the year. The team partners with the NFL to activate the Salute to Service campaign, dedicating a home game to honoring all five branches of the military. The 2015 Salute to Service game presented by Bank of America featured a special pregame presentation of the colors, as well as a special performance by the U.S. Army First Cavalry band of each military group's anthem. Also during pregame, Cowboys executive vice president Charlotte Jones Anderson joined Bank of America in presenting The Salvation Army DFW with a $30,000 donation for its veterans assistance program. In advance of the game, a $5,000 donation was presented to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society on behalf of the Jones Family Foundation during a Cowboys and NBC Sunday Night Football outreach event at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth. The event offered the base's servicemen and women and their families a chance to tour the team's Mobile Hall of Fame Museum and the NBC Sunday Night Football Bus, while meeting and mingling with Dallas Cowboys alumni, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and mascot Rowdy.
During summer training camp in Oxnard, California, the Cowboys provide military members of nearby naval stations and military installations – notably the Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu – special opportunities to interact with the team, including a private meet and greet with base personnel as the team's plane arrives for camp. Additionally, the Cowboys frequently host military groups at practice and invite children of military families to participate in special youth football and cheerleading camps. During the 2015 summer training camp, the Cowboys were extremely honored to welcome a two-star general to practice – Major General Glenn A. Bramhall, Commander of the 263rd Army Air & Missile Defense Command.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders USO Tours
Goodwill Ambassadors: Amerca's Sweethearts. The world-famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders organization – America's Sweethearts – is completely subsidized by the club for the primary purpose of spreading goodwill on a local, national and international platform. Aside from their obvious game day presence and numerous local community appearances, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have participated in USO visits to troops stationed overseas in more than 200 locations since their first tour on Christmas Day 1979. In December 2015, the cheerleaders completed their 79th and 80th USO tours. Six DCC members ventured to Kuwait and Turkey, where they visited with hundreds of stationed American troops. Across Asia, another six DCC visited American bases in Korea, visiting with troops and also hosting youth fitness and cheer camps for the soldiers' children. In addition to their partnership with the USO, the DCC also support local veterans through initiatives like the VA's Salute to Veteran Patients Week. Annually falling during the week of Valentine's Day, the DCC have made a special visit to veterans receiving care from VA medical centers, outpatient clinics and nursing homes for the past 30 years.
In August 2013, The American Legion honored the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders with the 2013 Distinguished Service Medal at the 95th National Convention in Houston. The prestigious award – previous recipients including presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush and Gen. Colin Powell – was presented to the DCC and director Kelli Finglass by National Commander James E. Koutz in recognition of the cheerleaders' more than 30 years of dedicated community service and support of the military.
