Salute to Service Week
Salute to Service Week is now an annual tradition of the Dallas Cowboys, with a variety of military and veteran related community outreach efforts centered in the week leading up to Veterans Day each year that impact a different military demographic each day – veterans, active-duty soldiers, military spouses, children and more. The 2022 Salute to Service Week events consisted of a special Halloween Trick-Or-Treat Tour of The Star in Frisco for military and veteran families, a Character Playbook live event at the National Medal of Honor Viewing Center, a special moving screening and workout with Merging Veterans and Players (MVP), My Cause My Cleats for the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation and a Baby Shower for 20 military moms-to-be. Salute to Service Week culminated with the Dallas Cowboys nationally televised match-up against the Indianapolis Colts.
Salute to Service Game
The Cowboys, alongside the NFL, activate an annual Salute to Service campaign honoring members of all six branches of the military both past and present each fall. Last season, the Dallas Cowboys celebrated the National Medal of Honor Museum and Medal of Honor recipients on Sunday, December 4th, at AT&T Stadium against the Indianapolis Colts. Through their title sponsorship of the Salute to Service game, Ford partnered with the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to donate $100,000 in support of the Foundation's Mission to Inspire America. The North Texas Ford Dealers donation included a new custom-wrapped Ford Expedition featuring the Foundation's branding, as well as a $70,000 grant to the National Medal of Honor Museum Education & Impact Fund. The funds will be utilized to diminish financial barriers for children, young adults, schools, and educational groups to experience the full impact of the Museum through field trips and school curriculum inclusion upon the facility's opening. Seventeen Medal of Honor Recipients attended the game as guests of the Dallas Cowboys and Jones Family. To integrate the NFL's My Cause My Cleats campaign into the 2022 Dallas Cowboys Salute to Service match up, the Cowboys Offensive Line and the coaching staff paid tribute to Medal of Honor recipients by wearing cleats and Nike Air Force One's, respectively, featuring National Medal of Honor Museum branding during the game. As part of this homage, Cowboys players presented custom Nike Air Force One shoes to the Medal of Honor recipients during the team's practice prior to the game. Each pair was customized for the recipient with their branch of service and incorporated elements of the National Medal of Honor Museum and Dallas Cowboys brands. The game's Coin Toss Captains were Retired Corporal Kyle Carpenter and Retired Captain Chris Cassidy. Carpenter, a member of the US Marine Corps, received the Medal of Honor for his courageous act of valor on November 10, 2010, in Afghanistan. Cassidy is a former United States Navy SEAL, who later became NASA's 14th Chief Astronaut. Today, Cassidy is President & CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation and is responsible for leading our nation's effort to honor the legacies of all Medal of Honor recipients.
Operation Shower
As part of Salute to Service week, the Dallas Cowboys annually host a baby shower for military moms-to-be at The Star in Frisco. For the last several years, the team has partnered with PepsiCo and OptumServe to shower 20 moms through an outreach with Operation Shower, a non-profit specializing in organizing baby showers for servicewomen and military families.
Salute to Service Career Development Workshop & Job Fair
The Dallas Cowboys work with Merging Vets and Players and their career development partner 3PT, as well as other military outreach non-profits to host a workshop for veterans, military spouses and soon to be transitioning service personnel that covers resume and professional social media presence, interview techniques and more that concludes in a job fair with hiring employers.
Merging Vets and Players Partnership
Merging Vets and Players (MVP) empowers combat veterans and former professional athletes by connecting them after the uniform comes off; providing them with a new team to assist with transition, promote personal development, and show them they are never alone. The Dallas Cowboys have partnered with MVP throughout the year to host workouts and workshops to further the mission and outreach of both the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation and MVP.
Military Days at Training Camp
During summer training camp in Oxnard, California, and at The Star in Frisco, the Cowboys provide military families of nearby military installations - notably the Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, Fort Cavazos and the Naval Air Station Join Reserve Base in Fort Worth – with special opportunities to interact with the team before and after training camp practices. Additionally, the Cowboys frequently invite children of military families to participate in special Cowboys youth football and cheerleading camps throughout the year.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders USO Tours
The world-famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders organization - "America's Sweethearts" - is completely subsidized by the club for the primary purpose of spreading goodwill on a local, national, and international platform. Aside from their obvious game day presence and numerous local community appearances, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have participated in USO visits to troops in more than 200 locations since their first tour on Christmas Day 1979. In 2022 Cowboys Legend and Air Force veteran, Chad Hennings, joined the Cheerleaders on their domestic USO Tour.