MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Music and laughter filled the air as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visited more than 200 military members and their families from the U.S. Special Operations Command during their annual “salute to the military visit.”
“Being around the military is real big because you support us every day; you are fighting for our country, we go out on Sunday and play football; that is our war, but [you] are fighting the war every day to protect us and give us a good life and we appreciate that,” said Akeem Spence, defensive tackle for the Bucs.
Every year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers partner with the United Services Automobile Association and Fox Sports to make this event to happen for the military community on base.
“Tampa is a military friendly town and we appreciate it. To keep those relationship going you have to invite people over and have company; today, we have USAA providing a great lunch and we have the Bucs here, the football players can see that warrior athletes are people too,” said Command Sgt. Maj. William Thetford, U.S. Special Operations Command senior enlisted adviser.
During the visit, Bucs players signed memorabilia and took pictures with fans, in addition to raffling off books, hats and Bose headphones to active-duty members and their families.