An M1A2 tank and a fighting Bradley vehicle are displayed in front of the Sierra Providence Events Center in support of military appreciation night for the Rhinos hockey game. Photo by Maj. Deanna Bague.
Bliss brings out the big guns
El Paso Rhinos hockey team hosts Military Appreciation Night
Maj. Deanna Bague, Fort Bliss Public Affairs
The front of the Sierra Providence Events Center at the El Paso County Coliseum looked like a battleground with three of the Army’s most lethal pieces of equipment on display Saturday.
The day the El Paso Rhinos junior hockey team held a military appreciation night, Fort Bliss Soldiers responded with a show in numbers and equipment by displaying an M1A2 tank, a Bradley fighting vehicle and a Patriot system in front of the Rhinos’ building.
Children crawled inside and outside the tanks and examined the Patriot up close, asking the Soldiers many questions about the equipment. Soldiers from the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division, and 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade were present to answer the children.
“A lot of people in El Paso are very supportive of the military, but they don’t really understand a lot of what goes on unless someone in their family is in the military,” said Capt. Timothy Bullock, assistant operations officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd CAB. “(The displays) are to help people see and understand what we work with and what we do.”
Soldiers from the 2nd CAB, 5th Brigade, 1st AD, carry the colors across the rink. Photo by Maj. Deanna Bague.
Children were not the only ones attracted to the equipment. The Rhino’s head coach, Cory Herman, took the Bradley vehicle for a ride around the parking lot under the supervision of Staff Sgt. Johnny Vanderhorst, Bradley commander, C Co., 2nd CAB.
“It’s pretty impressive,” said Herman. “(The Bradley) drives pretty nice. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. When you’re a little kid and you see something cool or on TV like a tank, and now you get to go inside it and crawl all over, it’s a pretty good experience.”
Some other surprises included Soldiers from E Company, 2nd CAB, 5-1 AD, who rappelled from the rafters carrying the American flag, and the singing of the national anthem by Sgt. John Jenkins, also from E Co., 2nd CAB. At halftime four Soldiers from 2nd CAB geared up and participated in a “dizzy lizzy” race to the far end of the rink.
As a tribute to the military, the entire hockey team wore special jerseys designed by Staff Sgt. Jason Billue, signal support specialist, Forward Support Co., 2nd CAB. The jerseys resembled the military uniform’s current print and bore a picture of the American flag with an Abrams tank, a Bradley fighting vehicle and a Humvee on the front, and a Fort Bliss unit patch on the side.
Pfc. Nathan Hilliard and Pvt. Daniel Hendrix, both from E Company, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division, rappel with the American flag at the opening of the Rhinos hockey game. Photo by Maj. Deanna Bague.
“When you see the military come to a junior hockey game with big combat vehicles, it’s an eye opener,” said Nick Gorup, a center for the Rhinos. “It means a lot to us knowing that the guys who protect our freedom are literally out here backing us for a hockey game on a Saturday night.”
“It’s just awsome!” said Costi Hinn, a defender for the Rhinos. “All we ever hear about are these guys going over and sometimes paying the ultimate sacrifice for us and our freedom, and to be able to come out here and see what they do is absolutely phenomenal for everyone.”
Soldiers said it felt good to be recognized by the community.
“It makes me feel really good to be appreciated,” said Sgt. Ian Long, tank gunner, C Co., 2nd CAB. “It makes us want to do our job even more.”