Former Packer Coach Gruden Returns from USO Tour

Jon Gruden, former Raiders and Buccaneers coach and current “Monday Night Football” analyst, is joined by Tom Coughlin, Bill Cowher, Jeff Fisher and John Harbaugh on the inaugural NFL-USO Coaches Tour. The group is traveling to meet and greet service members for several days in the Persian Gulf region. Gruden sent an update from the tour:

Posted by Jon Gruden from ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — I’m on a seven-hour time change. I just flew 15 hours from Iraq.

On Saturday we met with Gen. Ray Odierno and went to a military meeting with some of his staff. It was incredible. We spent an hour with him and at 10 a.m., we watched the naturalization of 237 soldiers who were to receive their citizenship for the United States. Once again, Gen. Odierno gave a great speech. Vice President Joe Biden was there, and he gave a great speech. Every soldier was introduced individually, presented an American flag and given their official U.S citizenship. It was unbelievable. There was a great band there. We all recited the Pledge of Allegiance while dozens of people watched from the rafters. The soldiers congratulated each other after receiving their citizenship. Ultimately, it was a great way to spend the Fourth of July.

From there, we traveled to several events around Baghdad. We had a chance to meet many other soldiers. We finished the night by visiting the USO’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new center.

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