Rep. Calvert Calls on Defense Department to Restore Broadcasts to Deployed Troops
Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) called on the Defense Department to end the unnecessary furloughs at the American Forces Network (AFN) that have forced many of its channels off the air and ended its broadcasts of live sporting events for our troops deployed overseas.
"Our troops should never be subjected to political games. The only games they want to see are the baseball playoffs, football games, and other sporting events that boost their morale," said Rep. Calvert. "Congress has passed, and the President has signed into law, a bill that provides the funding authorization necessary to reduce Defense Department civilian furloughs – that includes the media broadcasts for the American Forces Network. Regardless of our other differences, the morale and welfare of our troops, especially those deployed overseas, is something to which we should all be committed. I sincerely hope that the Defense Department gets these channels back on the air as soon as possible."
Earlier today, Rep. Calvert had a telephone conversation with a senior defense official to express his belief that the American Forces Network broadcasts fall under the definition of "support" as outlined in the Pay Our Military Act. It was communicated to Rep. Calvert that there may be a decision made this weekend to restore all channels at the AFN.
The Pay Our Military Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on September 30th. The law provides funding authorization to provide pay to: (1) members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service; and (2) civilian personnel and contractors of the Department of Defense who are providing support to members of the Armed Forces.
The American Forces Network Broadcast Center (AFN BC) is under the umbrella of Headquarters Defense Media Activity's (DMA) Broadcast Services Directorate (BS) located at Fort George Meade Maryland. The AFN BC is located in Riverside California and provides programming for military radio and television outlets overseas. These outlets serve American service men and women, Department of Defense (DoD) civilians, and their families stationed in over 175 countries around the world where English language broadcast service is unavailable or inadequate. This global radio and television network service is called AFN, the American Forces Network.
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