By USO and Carolina Panthers Media
Updated Mar. 16, 2017
Carolina Panthers players Mario Addison, Dean Marlowe, Andrew Norwell, Kawann Short and Trai Turner visited and spent quality time with service members and their families stationed in Germany as part of a week-long USO/NFL tour. An extension of Salute to Service, the group participated in an array of base activities, including a stop in U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, Mar. 10 at the 1-10 Special Forces Group-Airborne Dining Facility on Panzer Kaserne. Accompanying the NFL players were Carolina Panthers TopCat Cheerleaders Megan and Chandalae, as well as the USO of North Carolina and USO Europe who helped organize the trip. This was the Panther’s first USO tour.
View the photo album of USAG Stuttgart community members and the Carolina Panthers here.
The USO and NFL launched their 2017 activations at Super Bowl LI. The League also announced its $5M commitment to the USO over the next three years to support the expansion and refurbishment of USO centers through the Force Behind the Forces: A $7.5M Challenge Campaign, USO center engagements globally, USO programming for military serving in remote locations, as well as the annual iconic USO/NFL tours. The Carolina Panthers USO/NFL tour is part of that commitment. Later this spring, the USO and NFL will deploy another group of NFL players on a tour throughout the Middle East.
The USO and NFL partnership began in 1966, when the NFL became the first sports organization to send players to Vietnam and other parts of the Far East on USO tours to visit service members. Since then, the USO and National Football League have partnered to send renowned NFL sports personalities on annual USO tours around the world.
Carolina Panthers visiting players:
- Defensive End Mario Addison
- Safety Dean Marlowe
- Guard Andrew Norwell
- Defensive Tackle Kawann Short
- Right Guard Trai Turner