(March 22, 2006) -- The National Football League and the USO (United Service Organizations) will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their partnership this spring with a tour that will soon head to the Balkans and the Persian Gulf Region to provide a morale boost to troops stationed far from home.

Defensive ends Bryce Fisher of the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks and Patrick Kerney of the Atlanta Falcons, and tackle Max Starks of the Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers will meet and greet service members at various locations in the region. Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) is providing logistical support for the trip.

In 1966, the NFL became the first sports organization to send players to Vietnam and other parts of the Far East on "goodwill tours" to visit U.S. troops. The first group of players to embark on a USO tour overseas included four future Hall of Famers: Willie Davis, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff and Johnny Unitas.

In 2004, the NFL donated $250,000 to the USO for the construction of the Pat Tillman USO Center in Afghanistan, located at Bagram Air Base near Kabul. Larry Izzo of the New England Patriots and Warrick Dunn of the Falcons attended the opening of the center last April in Afghanistan. A former Arizona Cardinals safety, Tillman was killed during Army Ranger combat operations in Afghanistan in 2004.

The NFL has a long history of support for the military dating back to the league's inception in the 1920s. During World War II, NFL games were morale boosters and a diversion for a war-weary nation. Nearly 1,000 NFL personnel, from players to coaches to team owners, served in the military during World War II. Over the next four decades, dozens of football stars have made trips for the USO, including Don Meredith, Larry Csonka, Dick Butkus, Gene Upshaw, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Mike Singletary.

In addition, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have teamed with the USO for an unprecedented 59 times since 1979 to boost the morale of the men and women of our U.S. military at hundreds of bases and outposts around the world.

For 65 years, the USO has been providing morale, welfare and recreational services to U.S. military personnel and their families. The USO is a nonprofit, charitable organization, relying on the generosity of the American people to support its programs and services. For more information on the USO, visit www.uso.org.

The lineup of NFL players on USO tours: