Sept. 24, 2009

A touch of "army" surrounds the Iowa State-Army football game

The athletics department and Cyclone football program will host the team from the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., Sept. 26. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium.

"We are honored to have the Army football team in Ames," said athletics director Jamie Pollard said. "I know our fans will welcome the Army cadets to Ames on this special weekend."

Several unique events have been scheduled to celebrate the visit of the Army squad. They include:

  • An interactive display, "Army Strong," will be set up on South 4th Street. A group of 20 soldiers will manage the display area.
  • Weather permitting, the Northwest Special Operations Parachute Demonstration Team "SOF Warriors" will jump from a Blackhawk helicopter onto the Jack Trice Stadium field at 4:45 p.m., or 75 minutes before kickoff. Their jump takes approximately five minutes. This same team also will jump into the Ames High School football stadium Friday night. The "SOF Warriors" are volunteer active duty Special Forces, Ranger and Airborne qualified personnel.
  • An Iowa Army National Guard group from Fort Dodge will provide two M102 (105 mm) howitzers to be positioned on the stadium's Jacobson Plaza. The artillery will fire in tandem every hour, on the hour, beginning at 11 a.m. The firing of the guns will symbolize the sacrifice American soldiers have made through history. The howitzers will be on display for the remainder of the game. The M102 howitzer is a lightweight towed weapon. It has been replaced in the active Army by a newer howitzer, but still is found in several Army National Guard units.
  • The same Army National Guard group from Fort Dodge will set up a COLT (Combat Observation and Lasing Teams) Knight tour on the Jacobson Plaza. Knight is a precision targeting system consisting of a laser designator/rangefinder, thermal imager, digital controls, blended inertial/GPS navigation and targeting, and a self-defense weapon. It's mounted on the HUMVEE, Stryker and more recently, the armored security vehicle.
  • Several members of the active military will take part in the pre-game coin toss, including Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck, superintendent of the USMA at West Point; ISU alumnus and Brig. Gen. Timothy Orr, commander of the Iowa Army National Guard; and Lt. Col. Jay Soupene, chair of ISU military science and a West Point graduate.
  • Three Black Hawk helicopters will execute a flyover at the conclusion of the national anthem.
  • Weather permitting, one of the helicopters will land in the grass area northeast of the stadium. Ames native, former Cyclone football player and 1st Lt. Aaron Rosheim will pilot the aircraft.
  • Between the first and second quarters in the north endzone, a live contracting ceremony will be held, which recognizes ISU students who are starting on the path to becoming Army officers.

New hall of famers

Sept. 25-26 is also is Hall of Fame weekend at Iowa State. New inductees to the ISU Letterwinners Hall of Fame will be honored Saturday at halftime.