Arm-In-Arm With The Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Across the country, as U.S. military veterans are being honored for their service and sacrifice to their nation, the Arkansas Razorback football team will run through the “A” for the last time this season at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium with two flags generously donated by U.S. military personnel.
Colonel Ryan Pace, commander of the 77th Combat Aviation Brigade, sent Razorback Athletics a state flag and an American flag that flew over the brigade’s headquarters at Camp Buehring in Kuwait. Currently serving overseas in support of operations Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve, the 77th CAB is an aviation brigade of the U.S. Army in the Arkansas Army National Guard.
Pace, a veteran of the U.S. military for more than 25 years, said he’s been an “all-in Razorback fan” since meeting his wife while attending Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. As a native Missourian, Pace said he was attracted to the entire state of Arkansas’ support of the Razorbacks.
“Where I came from, that wasn’t necessarily the case,” he said. “I love the unity the Razorbacks bring to the state.”
This season, Razorback Athletics received four donated flags from U.S. military personnel – two Arkansas state flags and two U.S. flags – and social media has been abuzz with the partnership the athletics department has fostered with the military community. Pace said he found out about this effort through social media channels and worked accordingly with the men and women under his command to participate in the program.
“With as many Razorbacks that we have serving in the Middle East right now, it’s not hard to get a little momentum behind that effort,” Pace said. “There’s a lot of Razorback fans here and there’s several Razorback flags flying at our camp so it’s not a difficult process to begin.”
Pace also said with several National Guard units participating in the 77th CAB, several of those units hail from Southeastern Conference states, which has created a friendly rivalry among different fan bases at their camp this season.
“For example, there’s Florida, which made a great week for us last week,” Pace said. “And there’s South Carolina and Mississippi, yet another great week after our victory … it’s been a really fun rivalry this year. It takes a dedicated fan to wake up at 1 or 2 in the morning and watch the games, but people do it on a regular basis. School flags are flying across the Middle East, especially at our camp, with lots of fun being had by all.”
With the No. 25-ranked football team kicking off at 6 p.m. CT at DWRRS against the No. 24 Tigers, Pace said he’s looking forward to pregame ceremonies and the flags being unfurled in front of a sellout crowd.
“What’s so special about Arkansas Athletics is the unity it provides to the state and also the vast number of Razorback supporters who are also military supporters,” Pace said. “When the crowd gets excited behind our efforts, behind our support and most importantly, behind the flag, that means a lot to us. Just like how the Razorbacks unify the state, the flag unifies our nation. It’s going to be a special day and we’re with the Razorbacks arm-in-arm even though we’re 8,000 miles from home.”
