UTEP Athletics

UTEP Set to Battle Florida Atlantic on “Military Appreciation Day” Saturday

10/17/2022 1:43:00 PM

EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP football team returns to the Sun Bowl for the first time in four weeks to take on Florida Atlantic Saturday (Oct. 22) at 2 pm MT. The game is a matchup of teams that are halfway to bowl eligibility with five games remaining. Both UTEP and FAU stand 3-4 overall, while the Miners are 1-2 in Conference USA play and the Owls are 2-1.

The free Speaking Rock Pregame Party Zone will open at 11 am, featuring a performance by a Led Zeppelin cover band.

Saturday's game is "Military Appreciation Day" as UTEP pays tribute to the brave men and women posted at Fort Bliss. Fans will want to be in their seats by 1:45 pm so they can witness the pregame flyover by Apache helicopters during the national anthem. The game will also feature an enlistment ceremony at halftime.

Recruiters from all military services including the Space Force, the newest military branch of service, will be at the game giving out goodies and testing attendees strength with their equipment.
Military vehicles will be on display around the stadium and, for the first time, an AH-64 Apache helicopter will be available for viewing at Glory Field. The following is a description of the vehicles that will be on display Saturday:

M1A2 Abrams Tank (Displayed in Speaking Rock Pregame Party Zone): The Abrams Main Battle Tank closes with and destroys the enemy using mobility, firepower, and shock effect. The Abrams is a full-tracked, low-profile, land combat assault weapon enabling expeditionary Warfighters to dominate their adversaries through lethal firepower, unparalleled survivability, and audacious maneuver. The Abrams tank sends a message to those who would oppose the United States as to the resolve, capability, and might of the U.S. Army. A 1,500-horsepower turbine engine, 120 mm main gun and special armor make the Abrams tank particularly lethal against heavy armor forces.

M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (Displayed in Speaking Rock Pregame Party Zone): The M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle is the Army's primary Infantry Fighting Vehicle in Armored formations. The M2A3 has the same armament as the previous version Bradley M2A2. The M2A3 Bradley is armed with an M242 25mm Bushmaster Chain Gun with a 7.62 mm M240C machine gun mounted coaxially to the right of the main armament. A total of eight smoke grenade launchers are mounted on the forward part of the turret, four to each side of the main armament. Additionally, the vehicle has an anti-armor capability with its TOW Missile Launchers.

AH-64 Apache Helicopter (Displayed on Glory Field): The AH-64 Apache Helicopter is a twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. The Apache helicopter is the primary attack helicopter in the US Army inventory. It is responsible for providing overwhelming fires on enemy forces to enable the movement of ground troops. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has significant systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.

M997 Field Litter Ambulance (Displayed in Speaking Rock Pregame Party Zone): The M997A2 is based on the chassis of the standard Humvee. The vehicle is designed and manufactured by the American Defense Company AM General. The M997A2 is used as ambulance for the battlefield. The M997A2 can carry four litter or eight ambulatory patients. These vehicles provide mobility for emergency situations and a quick link between battlefield casualties and emergency services not readily available on the front lines of battle. The vehicle is in service in the U.S. Army since April 2, 1985.

Patriot Missile Launcher (Displayed in SB7 Parking Lot): The Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar component of the weapon system. The AN/MPQ-53 at the heart of the system is known as the "Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target" which is a backronym for PATRIOT. The Patriot system replaced the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium Air Defense (HIMAD) system and replaced the MIM-23 Hawk system as the U.S. Army's medium tactical air defense system. In addition to these roles, Patriot has been given the function of the U.S. Army's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system, which is now Patriot's primary mission. The system is expected to stay fielded until at least 2040.

Tickets to Saturday's game are available by visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or by calling (915) 747-UTEP. Fans can also participate in the Seats for Soldiers campaign by visitinghttp://www.UTEPMiners.com/seatsforsoldiers. Active and retired Military personnel can visithttps://www.vettix.org/events.php, log in to their account and claim their tickets for Saturday's football game. Active or retired Military personnel that do not have a Vet Tix account can visithttps://www.vettix.org/signup_start.php to create one.

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