Ravens & NFL 'Salute To Service' Campaign

From the Baltimore Ravens:

The Baltimore Ravens will continue their long history of honoring military veterans and active duty service members through a variety of initiatives, many of which will take place this Sunday (11/11) for the game against Oakland.

Those initiatives will include the following:

· The Ravens will display a number of Salute to Service-branded elements at M&T Bank Stadium this Sunday, including goal post wraps, pylons with camouflage ribbon decals and field stencils. Additional on-field elements featuring camouflage include ribbon lapel pins, Gatorade towels, Nike and Under Armour gloves for players and camouflage ribbon footballs used during every play. Game-worn merchandise will be auctioned at www.nfl.com/auction, with proceeds benefitting the league’s three core, military nonprofit partners – Pat Tillman Foundation, USO and the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).

· All Ravens players’ helmets will feature a camouflage ribbon decal alongside a decal honoring a specific military branch’s (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy) insignia.

· Prior to the game’s kickoff, veterans from all major conflicts (World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan), including wounded warriors, will be honored in an on-field ceremonial tribute. There will also be a flyover by the MD Air National Guard (A10s) following the National Anthem.

· For the sixth-consecutive year, the Ravens, in conjunction with the MD National Guard, will host a live feed to soldiers in Afghanistan on RavensVision boards prior to the game. The Maryland National Guard’s "B" Company 3^rd of the 126^th and "C" Company of the 169^th, currently stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, will participate in the live feed. Both companies, based in Edgewood, Md., are currently overseas serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

· Sgt. Emily Thompson Schelberg, the 2012 NFL-Tillman Military Scholar, will be honored on-field in a ceremony during the game. This scholarship is part of the Tillman Military Scholars program established by the Pat Tillman Foundation to support educational opportunities for veterans and active service members and their spouses. Thompson Schelberg, a native of Towson, Md., is currently pursuing a master’s degree in nursing at Johns Hopkins University. While serving in the Marine Corps, Thompson Schelberg was deployed to Iraq where she assisted a Navy Corpsman on a humanitarian aid mission. That experience uncovered her desire to work in healthcare, and she now plans to become a nurse practitioner and serve underprivileged communities.

· Ravens cheerleaders will sport red, white and blue pom-poms, and members of Baltimore’s Marching Ravens will perform patriotic songs.

· For every point scored during the NFL’s 32 designated Salute to Service games, the league will donate $100 to each of its three core, military nonprofit partners.

· Military Appreciation activities will continue on Tuesday (11/13), as Ravens players and staff will visit veterans at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. The players will meet with patients to show their appreciation and honor those who have served our country.