UA Reaches Overseas, Gives Soldiers Chance to Show Support for Tide

Army Maj. Darrell Phillips, a UA grad; Army Maj. Gen. Butch Pair, a Birmingham native and Crimson Tide fan; and Steven Hickam, a former UA ROTC instructor and current military contractor, stand by a UA flag signed by Crimson Tide fans and UA alums in Kuwait. The flag hung in a dining facility in Kuwait for four years, until soldiers decided a new one was needed because the old one was faded and in poor condition
Army Maj. Darrell Phillips, a UA grad; Army Maj. Gen. Butch Pair, a Birmingham native and Crimson Tide fan; and Steven Hickam, a former UA ROTC instructor and current military contractor, stand by a UA flag signed by Crimson Tide fans and UA alums in Kuwait. The flag hung in a dining facility in Kuwait for four years, until soldiers decided a new one was needed because the old one was faded and in poor condition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama has stepped into the Middle East.

In an armed forces’ dining facility in Kuwait, soldiers have walked by a University of Alabama flag hanging in the hallway for several years. That flag, however, is currently being replaced, said Army Maj. Gen. Butch Pair.

Pair said the flag, which hangs at the entrance of the hallway, has been faded by the sun and needed a replacement.

“Many other university flags are represented, but the Alabama flag is the first one seen when entering,” he said. “[A soldier] asked if I could help get the ‘OK’ to get a new flag hung up in the place of the old faded flag and also get the word out. I said yes.”

Other Tide fans in Kuwait and Iraq, including some Alabama graduates, signed the flag. Pair said he will bring the old flag home with him in July and give it to former Alabama “A” Club President Leon Marlaire.

Marlaire will then give the flag to UA Athletic Director Mal Moore.

Pair said friends from home will mail a new flag to Kuwait, and they hope to have UA football coach Nick Saban and several UA football players sign the flag.

Steve Hickam, a contractor for the Department of Defense and a former UA ROTC instructor, said representatives from all branches of armed forces were there to sign the flag.

“I was only there to sign the flag as I’m a Tide fan,” Hickam said. “I have numerous cadets, now officers, look me up when they come to Kuwait.”

Pair said most people who signed the flags wrote their names and their hometown.

“Most said thanks for military support, (or) Roll Tide, beat Auburn or some other support statements,” Pair said. “Truly Alabama is widely followed both everywhere in the U.S. and around the world by many fans.”

Pair said the hallway in which the flags hang has a sports theme and features flags from numerous other schools, such as Oklahoma University, Auburn University, University of Southern California, University of Kentucky, University of Nebraska and Penn State University.

Contact

James Jaillet or Linda Hill, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8325, lhill@ur.ua.edu