Rising Sun - HEAVY Duty

Kure, Japan - The Armed Forces Entertainment HEAVY Medal III Team has arrived here in this small seaport town to spend time with a very special group of US Army Service Members. " We haven't had anyone visit us in at least 6 months so you guys coming is like Christmas in May for our Soldiers" said David Ricks, Kure Lodging and Club Manager to the Akizuki/83rd Ordinance Battalion - U.S. Army. " There are less then 60 US Army Soldiers Stationed here and with the relief effort we've ben tasked to, half the base is up north on any given monday... we are all so pumped to spend time with you all, thanks for coming " he added.

Arriving in Japan today had different meanings for several of the HEAVY Medal Tour members. For Mike Lane it was the first time back since having been born here over 40 years ago. While Caroline Lalive and Robi Powers spent time in conversation talking about the 1998 Nagano Olympics, which was the last time either of them were in this land of the rising sun.

The Team will set off early in the morning to meet everyone on this remote base....and in the end hopefully create connections and establish unique one on one friendships. "American300 Warrior Tours is all about going where others won't." says Powers adding " Armed Forces Entertainment's Chief; LTC Weatherspoon has been a great supporter of our desire to put these unique motivational tours in with troops who are hardship deployed around the World."

Follow the tour at:

American300 Warrior Tours FACEBOOK

and

American300 Foundation

CATCHPENNY

Catchpenny will spend a majority of their time this year performing for the troops overseas. The Department of Defense Program Directors were so impressed with Catchpenny that they signed them to a one-year contract to perform over 150 shows for the men and women of the armed forces. Something they've never done before.

Catchpenny is fast approaching it's 5th year. In that time, the band has never had a record label, and spent the majority of their time self-managing and booking. They designed their own posters, t-shirts and records. Built their own websites, recorded their records at home and grew their email lists and did things they way they should. And in that time, the band has toured the U.S. and world, playing half a dozen countries, and some of the United States most legendary venues with legendary bands. From Cabo Wabo to the House of Blues in Chicago, the Viper Room to The World's Largest Block Party, Catchpenny has found themselves in positions thought only to be reserved for major acts with major budgets. So how, one may ask, does this happen?

ANNE BONNEY

Anne Bonney, senior manager of RUN at UnderArmour, is an industry leader who is fully engaged in the sports that she represents for her company. From her 18 marathon finishes...and counting... (including one in Antarctica), countless adventure races and ultra marathons, to her Iron Distance Triathlon finishes.

Anne, will be joining the Warrior Tours Staff as our "Industry Expert" providing Soldiers with the latest information surrounding: shoe and clothing design and technology. She also comes to our team as the very proud daughter of a retired US Army father who served during Vietnam.

Keep up to date with Anne on her blog- http://annebonneytravels.blogspot.com/

Follow her on Twitter- http://twitter.com/thumbs0419

FRANK SHORTER

Born: October 31, 1947 - Munich, DE

Events
3 mi. - 12:52
5,000 m - 13:26.60
10,000 m - 27:45.91
marathon - 2:10:30

Born on an Army base in Germany (his father was an Army Doctor stationed in BRD), and 24-time national champion, Shorter captured the Olympic Gold Medal in 1972 in the city of his birth (Munich). It was this performance that inspired the distance running boom in the U.S. He went on to claim the Silver Medal in the 1976 Olympics and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984. Frank is one of the single most highly regarded runners of all time... an authority on the movement to create WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) and someone who our Warrior Runners both young and old will enjoy meeting, running with... and spending time around at each base we visit.

Championships
1972 Olympics: 10,000 m (5th)
1972 Olympics: marathon (1st)
1976 Olympics: marathon (2nd)
1971 Pan-Am Games: 10,000 m (1st)
1971 Pan-Am Games: marathon (1st)
1969 NCAA: 6 mi. (1st)

Education
high school: Mount Hernon Academy (Northfield, Massachusetts), 1965
undergraduate: Yale (New Haven, Connecticut), 1969

Occupations
Businessman
Television sports commentator
Drug enforcement administrator

SANDRA MAGNUS

Born: October 30, 1964 - Belleville, Illinois.

NASA Astronaut Sandra Magnus knows more than a little something about the need for fitness and endurance over long distances. Among her impressive work for NASA, she has traveled more than 4.5 million miles and spent three months in space as flight engineer and science officer for space station operation and repair missions. We’re looking forward to this “first” of an astronaut promoting fitness in a combat area of operation.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Belleville West High School, Belleville, Illinois, in 1982; received a bachelor degree in physics and a master degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1986 and 1990, respectively, and a doctorate from the School of Material Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1996.

ORGANIZATIONS: ASM/TMS (Metallurgical/Material Society), AAAS.

SPECIAL HONORS: Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award (1994 and 1996), Saturn Team Award (1994), Performance Bonus Award (1989), NASA Space Flight Medal (2002).

EXPERIENCE: During 1986 to 1991, Magnus worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company as a stealth engineer where she worked on internal research and development studying the effectiveness of RADAR signature reduction techniques. She was also assigned to the Navy’s A-12 Attack Aircraft program primarily working on the propulsion system until the program was cancelled. From 1991 to 1996, Magnus completed her thesis work which was supported by NASA-Lewis Research Center through a Graduate Student Fellowship and involved investigations on materials of interest for “Scandate” thermionic cathodes.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in April 1996, Dr. Magnus reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. She completed two years of training and evaluation and is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. From January 1997 through May 1998 Dr. Magnus worked in the Astronaut Office Payloads/Habitability Branch. Her duties involved working with ESA, NASDA and Brazil on science freezers, glove boxes and other facility type payloads. In May 1998, Dr. Magnus was assigned as a “Russian Crusader” which involved traveling to Russia in support of hardware testing and operational products development. In August 2000, she served as a CAPCOM for the International Space Station. In August 2001, she was assigned to STS-112. In October 2002, Dr. Magnus flew aboard STS-112. In completing her first space flight she logged a total of 10 days, 19 hours, and 58 minutes in space. Following STS-112, Dr. Magnus was assigned to work with the Canadian Space Agency to prepare the Special Dexterous Manipulator robot for installation on the ISS. She was also involved in return to flight activities. In July 2005, Dr. Magnus was assigned to the ISS Expedition Corps and began training for a future space station long duration mission. Currently she lives and works aboard the International Space Station as an Expedition 18 flight engineer and NASA science officer. She flew to the space station with the crew of STS-126, launching on November 14, and arriving at the station on November 16, 2008. Dr. Magnus will spend 3 months aboard the space station and return to earth with the crew of STS-119.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-112 Atlantis (October 7-18, 2002) launched from and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. STS-112 was an International Space Station assembly mission during which the crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition 5 by delivering and installing the S-One Truss (the third piece of the station's 11-piece Integrated Truss Structure). Dr. Magnus operated the space station’s robotic arm during the three spacewalks required to outfit and activate the new component. The crew also transferred cargo between the two vehicles and used the shuttle's thruster jets during two maneuvers to raise the station's orbit. STS-112 was the first shuttle mission to use a camera on the External Tank, providing a live view of the launch to flight controllers and NASA TV viewers. The mission was accomplished in 170 orbits, traveling 4.5 million miles in 10 days, 19 hours, and 58 minutes.

Enjoys soccer, reading, travel, water activities.