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Volunteers assist during the ���ϲ����� Orange football game on Military Appreciation Day.

Over the weekend, close to 1,000 military service members, veterans and their families from the ���ϲ����� area and Fort Drum were welcomed to campus and honored during the 6^th annual Military Appreciation Day which included the family-friendly Stars and Stripes as well as recognition during ���ϲ����� Orange football game against Western Michigan.

“We are grateful to all those in the ���ϲ����� community who continue to embrace and support our military, veterans and family members,” says Executive Director of the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA) Ron Novack. “The sacrifices these service members, veterans and families make for our country deserve recognition and there is no better place to honor and thank them than on the grounds of ���ϲ����� where we strive to be the ‘best place for veterans.”

���ϲ����� Athletics and the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs partnered to coordinate military-related activities before and during the game, including:

• A pre-game on-field enlistment ceremony where CNY high school seniors took their initial oath of enlistment to support and defend the Constitution of the United States;
• The national anthem sung by SSG Benjamin Garnett of the 10^th Mountain Division while soldiers from the 10^th Mountain Division’s 2^nd Brigade Combat Team held the United States flag over the field;
• Coin toss by honorary Game Captains Major General Brian Mennes, Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division and Command Sergeant Major Samuel Roark, Senior Enlisted Advisor;
• The honoring of United States Army Captain Timothy Monczynski as the game’s hometown hero and
• Joint performances by the Fort Drum 10th Mountain Division band and the ���ϲ����� Marching Band.

Service members from Fort Drum and local veterans at the tailgate attended the game free of charge following the annual ‘Cuse for Troops ticket promotion which allows the public to thank veterans and active duty service members for their service by sponsoring their attendance to the game.

The annual Stars and Stripes tailgate and military appreciation game is part of a series of programs and initiatives in support of ���ϲ�����’s commitment to veterans, military service members and their families in order to strive to remain the “best place for veterans.”

The objective is supported by a series of strategic initiatives, including the creation of the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, IVMF, expanded capabilities of the Office of Veteran Success and construction of the National Veterans Resource Center, a first-of-its-kind multi-use facility dedicated to advancing academic research, programming and community-connected innovation serving the social, economic and wellness concerns of the nation’s veterans and families.

The ���ϲ����� football team defeated Western Michigan 52 to 33.