World Wrestling Entertainment wrestlers take a peek inside Pope

By Lisa Moore
440th AW PAO

December 15, 2011

inment wrestlers were in full force on Fort Bragg this past weekend for the 2011 Tribute to the Troops. Five vans, carrying different groups of wrestlers, made their way around the installation.
It was van number three that made its way to Pope Field and got a firsthand look at how the Air Force interacts with the Army on one of the major military installations in the United States.

Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, Christian and WWE diva Rosa Mendes toured the Combat Control School, the Aeromedical Evacuation Formal Training Unit and interacted with flight crews and maintainers at a C-130 aircraft on the Pope Field flightline.

“This tour has been great,” said Mendes. “We normally don’t get to see how the servicemembers train and get their jobs done. We appreciate being able see what they do and being able to talk to them.”

After the tours, the WWE wrestlers, camera crew and staff were then educated on what it is was really like to dine where the servicemembers dine on the installation. The group had lunch at the Pope Field Kitty Hawk dining facility and were pleasantly surprised.

“I know what I have heard about military food,” said the group’s marketing manager. “But, the food is great here. The chicken noodle soup was the best I have ever had.”

Kitty Hawk Dining Facility manager, John Shoulars was grateful for the compliment. “We take pride in our food,” he said. “Everything is made from scratch by a great staff that cares.”

Following lunch, the group signed autographs, took pictures, mingled with the dining facility patrons and staff and then headed out to spend more time saluting the troops.

The Tribute to the Troops is an annual event held by WWE together with Armed Forces Entertainment in December close to the Christmas holiday as a way of honoring the men and women of the United States armed forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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