<P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;" align="center"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Copperplate Gothic Bold';">DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 2pt;FONT-FAMILY: 'Copperplate Gothic Bold';"> <o></o></SPAN></P>
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<P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;" align="center"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt;FONT-FAMILY: 'Copperplate Gothic Bold';">MILITARY AFFILIATE RADIO SYSTEM<o></o></SPAN></P>
<P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;" align="center"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt;FONT-FAMILY: 'Copperplate Gothic Bold';">FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA 85613-5000</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt;FONT-FAMILY: 'Copperplate Gothic Light';"><o></o></SPAN></P>
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<P class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';"><SPAN> June 3, 2008</SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: red;"><o></o></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';">Following news release is submitted by:<o></o></SPAN></P>
<H1><FONT size="3"><U><FONT face="Courier New"><I><SPAN style="COLOR: red;TEXT-DECORATION: none;">Jose M. Arroyo, AAR4FM/T / NO4I</SPAN></I></FONT></U></FONT></H1>
<H1><FONT size="3"><U><FONT face="Courier New"><I><SPAN style="COLOR: red;TEXT-DECORATION: none;">863-651-1172 Cell</SPAN></I></FONT></U></FONT></H1>
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<H1><I><U><FONT size="3"><FONT face="Courier New">For Immediate Release<o></o></FONT></FONT></U></I></H1>
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<P class="MsoNormal"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN> </SPAN><B>FREE FATHER'S DAY MESSAGES FOR MILITARY FAMILIES <o></o></B></FONT></P>
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<P class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><FONT face="Courier New">Families of servicemembers deployed away from home are invited to send personal greetings on the occasion of Father's Day June 15. Volunteer Amateur Radio operators will deliver the messages, known to the armed forces since the Vietnam era as "MARSgrams", at no charge to senders.</FONT></P>
<P class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';"><SPAN> </SPAN>The MARSgram is a year-round service of the Army Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS), the Defense Department-sponsored organization of volunteer "hams" whose primary mission is providing emergency communications in times of crisis.<SPAN> </SPAN><o></o></SPAN></P>
<P class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';"><SPAN> </SPAN>Captain Jeffrey Hammer of the Indiana National Guard, the Army MARS representative in Iraq, is looking for a lot of holiday messages. </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';">"I am 100 per cent set up to deal with them," he said.<o></o></SPAN></P>
<P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in;"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';">To send a MARSgram, access <A href="mhtml:{7B931E47-EF84-451C-84E4-5760A3EEC6FC}mid://00000052/!x-usc:http://www.mymars.org/">http://www.mymars.org</A> on the <SPAN style="COLOR: black;">Internet. The message you enter there will be transmitted automatically. Or contact the Army MARS member listed below.<o></o></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="COLOR: black;FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';"><SPAN> </SPAN>MARSgrams must be held to 80 words, but there is no limit on the number of messages that may be sent. Text must be in English and complete postal address is required. If available, the addressee's telephone number may speed delivery. Full</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';"> instructions appear at <A href="mhtml:{7B931E47-EF84-451C-84E4-5760A3EEC6FC}mid://00000052/!x-usc:http://www.mymars.org/">www.mymars.org</A>. <o></o></SPAN></P>
<P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in;"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';">Serving the United States military since the 1920s, Army MARS is dedicated to ensuring that army units and civil disaster response organizations have reliable auxiliary communications. To learn more about the mission of the 2,700 volunteers in Army MARS, visit <SPAN style="COLOR: #ff6600;"><A href="mhtml:{7B931E47-EF84-451C-84E4-5760A3EEC6FC}mid://00000052/!x-usc:http://www.netcom.army.mil/mars">www.netcom.army.mil/mars</A>. <o></o></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';">To send a MARSgram if the Internet is not available, <o></o></SPAN></P>
<P class="MsoNormal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New';">phone<SPAN style="COLOR: red;"> 863-651-1172.</SPAN></SPAN></P>