We at the LUV airline are a patriotic bunch. We LUV our country; we give America the Freedom to fly; and we support our troops who fight for our country's many freedoms.
One way we express our LUV is by encouraging our Employees to wear red shirts on Fridays to show our support for the troops. In addition, our Internal Customer Care Team (this year's Heroes of the Heart!) sends LUV packages to all of our Employees or immediate family members who are called for military service. Many times, individual departments also keep in touch with Employees who have been called for military duty.
The attached photos show several of our Southwest Airlines Family Members who are currently serving overseas. 
Mike Clanton is the husband of my friend, Tina, who works as a Recruiter in the People & Leadership Development Department. Mike is in the Marine Corps Reserves and has been serving in northwest Iraq, near the Syrian border, since early November. 
Several departments have 'adopted' Mike during his deployment, and have sent goodies for him, as well as backpacks, school supplies and shoes for 
Iraqi children.
Another friend of mine who is currently serving overseas is a SWA Finance Department Employee named Charles Kitowski. 
His girlfriend, Berri, also a Southwest Employee, works in our Flight Operations Department as a Crew Accommodations Specialist. Charles left in January for Afghanistan and will be there until November. Here are a few photos that he sent to us recently. If you look closely at the photo titled "My Room," 
the photo in the calendar on his wall is of Charles and Berri from our trip to Seattle in August to pick up a new 737 (see Sunny's blog, "Can We Bottle That Smell?")
Another great story came to us from Bernadette Maldonado, a Baltimore-based Flight Attendant, 
who was also deployed to Afghanistan in January of this year. Shortly after arriving, she met Bill Mountcastle, another SWA Employee, who works as a BWI-based Pilot! 
They had not met each other before, but both found comfort in the fact that they had a Fellow SWA Employee serving alongside them! Attached are some photos that Bernadette sent to her friends at home.
I'm so grateful to all of these folks for serving our country, and I'm proud to call them my friends. It makes my heart happy to know that even though they are far away from home, they can feel the LUV we're sending their way.
Comments
Friends are worth keeping for. They are reliable friends indeed!
Thank You!!!!!!! *Proud Army Wife*
I know this is an old post, but I hope it will be updated. Thank you SW for this page. I am going to book my flights with Southwest from now on. Some companies just "get it!" and obviously, SW does.
http://www.mrbucks.com/Awarenessweb.jpg
I have a company that is providing some of the awareness ribbons for this push.
Let me know if we can help any further.
Your airline is beyond wonderful, you exemplify what america is all about, which is becoming scarce these days. My son and his wife both work for Southwest, and I couldn'ty be more proud.
God bless all of you, keep up the image and great work!!
We here at Ft. Bliss are extremely proud of our soldiers and all the soldiers serving. Because of you, we are free.
Thank you Southwest Airlines and all your employees for supporting our troops. Not only do you honor our troops, you honor the flying Americans with the only profitable and efficient airline. I will continue to fly with Southwest when you service my destination. God bless each and every one of you.
I just happend to open this Blog and read about Charles' passing. My tears rolled down my face the whole time! I did not know him, but I do know a lot of young men and women, serving in Iraq as of this writing. In my current position I help find housing for military families here in Hawaii. I am amazed how brave and patriotic all of these young people are. I admire and respect these families, because of their service to our country we can enjoy our freedoms here.
Thank you and may you all have a safe trip back home! We DO appreciate your service and sacrifice! God Bless!
Gloria Almendares
Hawaii
It has been 10 months since my dear friend Charles' passing.
His death was not an end; it was only a beginning. We, his UST friends, have become closer. In his own way, he has inspired us to live more fully, to think of our actions, to see what a difference we can make in the world around us.
A few of us visited the University of St. Thomas in Houston yesterday, our alma mater, Charles' alma mater. He has a memorial tree and paver there as well. It is nice to see that, even after he has gone, he still brings us together and reminds us of the bond that holds us, no matter where we are or what we're doing.
Thank you, Charles. We miss you dearly...
Thank you for taking the time and effort to support our service people. They deserve every bit of support and respect we send them. I'm not really surprised, though. Many of the founding pilots for Southwest were Vietnam veterans. My cousin, Don Morris, was the 54th pilot hired by your company. When he came home after serving in Vietnam, he was hurt by the hostility many people expressed towards him. Southwest was a professional home and extended family for the rest of his life. Bless all of you for not letting our current service people suffer the isolation that Vietnam vets did!