Peoria, Ariz. (Dec. 19, 2007)
– One week before Christmas, the Peoria City Council honored city employees who
serve (or have served) in the United States Armed Forces and finalized an
agreement with Cox Communications that lays the groundwork for Cox to provide
the Pentagon Channel to all Cox subscribers in Arizona.
At the 7 p.m. City Council Meeting Dec.
18, Mayor Bob Barrett and the Peoria City Council along with officials from the
Department of Defense thanked city employees who are veterans of military
service. Many of these employees still serve as members of the National Guard
and reserves. Each veteran employee received a commemorative “dog tag” from the
department’s America Supports You program.
“It’s especially important this time of
year to show our support to military service members and their families,” said
Mayor Barrett. “Many of these families can’t be together over the holidays
because husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, moms and dads are
in uniform and deployed away from home – many of them in harm’s way. Hopefully
our actions tonight show them that we’re thinking of them and are thankful for
their service.”
Following the employee recognition, the
City Council took another action to show support for military families. They
amended the city’s cable franchise agreement with Cox Communications so that the
cable carrier can make the Pentagon Channel available to its digital cable
subscribers in Arizona.
In 2005, Peoria became the first Arizona
city to offer the channel to Cox cable customers within its city limits. Since
then, the city and Cox (with support from the Department of Defense) have been
pursuing ways to offer the Pentagon Channel to a bigger audience.
To make it work, Peoria gave up control
of one of its public, education and government channels – a move that allows Cox
to move forward with plans to make the Pentagon Channel available to all of its
digital cable subscribers in Arizona (currently the Phoenix and Tucson metro
areas).
“This agreement with the City of Peoria,
Cox Communications and the Pentagon Channel is truly historic and serves as a
strong example of how the public and private sectors can come together to
provide and show support for our troops and their families,” said Allison
Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and creator of the America
Supports You program. "By making the Pentagon Channel available statewide,
Arizona’s military members will receive vital and timely military news, which is
especially important to the families of our deployed members who may not have
access to this information because they’re not located on or near military
facilities.”
Cox officials hope to have the channel
on their Arizona system as early as February 2008.
“Cox is excited to be part of this
unique opportunity to partner with the City of Peoria to be able to carry
Pentagon Channel on the Cox digital channel lineup in the Valley and Southern
Arizona,” said Cox Vice President of Community Relations Ivan Johnson.
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About America Supports You
America Supports You is an ongoing,
nationwide program organized by the Department of Defense to showcase Americans’
support for the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families. Since its
launch in November of 2004, America Supports You has welcomed 330 home front
organizations and more than 35 corporations to the program. Many America
Supports You home front groups demonstrate their support for the troops through
letter writing, care packages, helping the wounded when they return home,
assisting military families, sending an email or kind gesture—to learn more
about how you can support military personnel please visit
www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil.
About the Pentagon Channel
The Pentagon Channel is the Department
of Defense’s 24-hour television channel, broadcasting military news and
information for and about the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces—Active Duty
service members, as well as those in the National Guard, and reserves. Pentagon
Channel programming includes Department of Defense news briefings, military
news, original documentaries and interviews with top Defense officials. The
Pentagon Channel was launched in the U.S. on May 14, 2004 and is now seen on
more than 230 stateside military bases, on systems of more than 20 commercial
cable and satellite providers, and on many public, educational and government
channels throughout the United States. The Pentagon Channel is also broadcast
in 177 countries via American Forces Radio and Television Service and is
streamed live and available via video-on demand at
http://www.pentagonchannel.mil.
