Secretary of Defense William Cohen and his wife, Janet Langhart Cohen, will participate in a pre-holiday visit to deployed American military members in the Gulf region. The three-day tour, co-sponsored by the military exchange services and United Service Organizations, starts Dec. 22, 1998.
Accompanying the Cohens on their visit are recording artists Carole King, Mary Chapin Carpenter and David Ball. King's remarkable recording career, spanning three decades, includes a string of No. 1 hits and the landmark solo album, Tapestry, which was the best selling female solo album for over 25 years. She recently completed recording "Anyone at All," the end title song to the new film You've Got Mail, which King co-wrote with Carole Bayer Sager. Carpenter's best selling hits date back to her musical debut in 1987, and include the triple-platinum album, Come On Come On. Country singer David Ball also has several albums to his credit, including the 1994 Grammy nominee, Thinkin' Problem.
Secretary Cohen will be taking gifts for deployed service members from a number of private firms, which are also providing gifts for U.S. service members deployed elsewhere.
Approximately 34,000 American military members on ships in the Persian Gulf, and at bases in Bosnia, Croatia and Hungary will receive $10 AT&T Global Prepaid Cards for the holidays, thanks to a collaborative effort by AT&T, the Defense Department, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and the Navy Exchange Command. In addition, service members at other bases in the Middle East will be able to call home for half the regular rate using AT&T's Global Military Saver Plus calling plan.
Two Chicago firms are teaming to send pizzas and cheesecakes. Luigi Stefani's Pizza committed to send 1,000 frozen pizzas to Bosnia, while Eli's Cheezecake Company is sending 250 frozen cheezecakes. Sports Illustrated is donating 2,000 copies of their Sports Man of the Year Issue. Other corporate donors include the M&M Mars Company, Sees Candy of San Francisco, Tootsie Roll, and Blockbuster Video.
For more details, contact Lt. Col. Vic Warzinski at (703) 697-3189.
