Fort Bliss Monitor

Spc. Michael Garrett, Monitor Staff
Photo Illustration by Susan Laven

Children with painted faces ran giggling from jumping balloons to the Slip-n-Dip. Soldiers sat under pavilions and laughed at humorous stories. Families of all sizes enjoyed a day of great food and activities. Crowds gathered to hear the many bands that played until well after dark. And for the first time in over 20 years, fireworks were seen in the sky over Fort Bliss.

Fort Bliss Morale, Welfare and Recreation department put together with hopes that hopes all Soldiers and family members would be able to enjoy it. “Our staff got together and wanted to do something like a family fun day,” said Lindy Sorrell, chief of family recreation division for MWR. “We wanted to have a big variety of activities for very little cost, lots for families and Soldiers to do,” Sorrell added. After getting help from many different sponsors in the El Paso area MWR put together “Rock the Fort”, a day of music and entertainment to honor the dedication of our Soldiers.

There were plenty of new and old cars for everyone to gaze at.

A few of the bands that preformed at the show included Soldiers from Fort Bliss. Lt. Col. Mike Maloney of the band Danger Close said it was because of Rock the Fort that the band came together. “This is why we formed the band,” Maloney said. “Rock the Fort came up and I talked to some guys and we put a band together.”
The band will also be featured on Ted Nugent’s show, “Spirit of the Wild.” The band preformed a song off Nugent’s latest album and a video of that performance will play on the show.

Super Bleed is another band with Soldiers that entertained the crowd. Sgt 1st Class Thomas Williamson, a member of the band, said the band’s inclusion was last minute. “I came across a flyer and I wondered if they would be interested in having a band with military members in it. I called and they squeezed us in,” Williamson said.

The night ended with a fireworks display provided courtesy of Fort Bliss MWR. “It’s been a while since we have been able to bring out the whole family,” said Janet Harvey, military spouse. “Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can do this again,” she added.



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	July 29, 2004

Fat Pappas lead singer, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Boucher delivers his version of the Foo Fighters “Times like these.” Ayanna Smith, 5, dunks 2nd Lt. Alex Karahalis, 516 Maint. Co. XO, at the dunk tank. Morning showers didn’t keep the kids from playing. Race fans got a close-up llook at the El Paso sponsored NASCAR Dodge. Dominic Hibbs, 6, slides through the Slip-n-Dip and eventually reaches the pool at the end. Pfc. Arron McLaughlin, D, 1-56, tries his hand at the DeWalt Pit Stop Challenge. <map name="boxmap-b4"> <area shape="rect" coords="0, 589, 120, 600" href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" > <area coords="0,0,10000,10000" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=&creative=92501&camp=8117&link_code=dl1&path=subst/misc/amazon-cobrand-cc/v3/marketing-from-associates-step1.html/ref%3Db1_assoc_29" > </map>	Spc. Michael Garrett, Monitor Staff Photo Illustration by Susan Laven Children with painted faces ran giggling from jumping balloons to the Slip-n-Dip. Soldiers sat under pavilions and laughed at humorous stories. Families of all sizes enjoyed a day of great food and activities. Crowds gathered to hear the many bands that played until well after dark. And for the first time in over 20 years, fireworks were seen in the sky over Fort Bliss. Fort Bliss Morale, Welfare and Recreation department put together with hopes that hopes all Soldiers and family members would be able to enjoy it. “Our staff got together and wanted to do something like a family fun day,” said Lindy Sorrell, chief of family recreation division for MWR. “We wanted to have a big variety of activities for very little cost, lots for families and Soldiers to do,” Sorrell added. After getting help from many different sponsors in the El Paso area MWR put together “Rock the Fort”, a day of music and entertainment to honor the dedication of our Soldiers. There were plenty of new and old cars for everyone to gaze at. A few of the bands that preformed at the show included Soldiers from Fort Bliss. Lt. Col. Mike Maloney of the band Danger Close said it was because of Rock the Fort that the band came together. “This is why we formed the band,” Maloney said. “Rock the Fort came up and I talked to some guys and we put a band together.” The band will also be featured on Ted Nugent’s show, “Spirit of the Wild.” The band preformed a song off Nugent’s latest album and a video of that performance will play on the show. Super Bleed is another band with Soldiers that entertained the crowd. Sgt 1st Class Thomas Williamson, a member of the band, said the band’s inclusion was last minute. “I came across a flyer and I wondered if they would be interested in having a band with military members in it. I called and they squeezed us in,” Williamson said. The night ended with a fireworks display provided courtesy of Fort Bliss MWR. “It’s been a while since we have been able to bring out the whole family,” said Janet Harvey, military spouse. “Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can do this again,” she added.