Red Shirt Orange Friday September 30 to support troops

Monday, September 19, 2011

In the waves of Cowboy orange in Stillwater, a small ripple of American red will appear Sept. 30.

For the third consecutive year, Oklahoma State University students will host Red Shirt Orange Friday, an event to show their support for the U.S. Armed Forces at home and abroad.

“This year’s event is dedicated to the Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade and the Oklahomans who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” said Katie Vaz, agricultural communications senior who serves as chair of the 2011 RSOF.

The RSOF celebration will begin on Edmon Low Library Lawn at 11:30 a.m. The program will feature Sen. Steve Russell; Sen. Jim Halligan; MG Myles L. Deering, adjutant general of the Oklahoma National Guard; patriotic music; and additional dignitaries as well as the chance to donate items for care packages.

Russell served 21 years in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, deploying operationally to Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq and serving as commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division during the first year of the Iraq war. Russell retired from the Army in 2006 to return to Oklahoma, where he has advocated nationally for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Russell is the author of “We Got Him! A Memoir of the Hunt and Capture of Saddam Hussein.”

This event will be open to the public. Veterans and those currently serving in any military branch are encouraged to attend.

“At the event, family and friends also can provide names of soldiers so we can send them OSU care packages,” Vaz said.

In addition to hosting the event, the RSOF steering committee is selling exclusive RSOF t-shirts for $10 each. The red shirts feature OSU insignia so those near and far can show their Cowboy and Country Spirit. The proceeds will be used to send care packages to active military personnel.

“We selected the color to coordinate with a national effort to wear red on Fridays to show support for the Armed Forces,” Vaz said. “We proudly wear our orange every other Friday, but we ‘sacrifice’ and wear red on one Friday a year to show our support for the soldiers and their families who sacrifice every day. If we changed the color, it would misrepresent the purpose behind it.

For more information about the event or to purchase a t-shirt, go to http://redshirtorangefriday.com/ or visit the group’s Facebook page: Red Shirts – Orange Fridays.