UH football for Isle troops

Advertiser Staff

Thousands of Hawai'i troops being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan will soon be able to enjoy University of Hawai'i home football games thanks to the efforts of several local companies.

KFVE-TV, which broadcasts all University of Hawai'i sporting events, has agreed to provide recorded copies of UH home games on a master tape to the Army. Then, local nonprofit Unity House will pay to duplicate those home games into DVDs. The DVD copies will be given to the Army and sent overseas to soldiers serving in the Hawai'i National Guard and Army Reserve units.

"We are very proud and committed to supporting our brave men and women serving overseas," said Tony Rutledge, Unity House president. "They are Hawai'i's sons and daughters serving on the front lines of freedom. Providing these DVDs is just a small token of appreciation for their sacrifice."

At the current time, those units are the Hawai'i National Guard's 193rd Aviation Battalion, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan and 411th Engineer Battalion in Iraq.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to support our local people serving in the Mideast," said John Fink, KFVE general manager. "We hope these football games will make a small difference in their quality of life and let them know that we are thinking about them here."