America Supports You: Radio Program Gives Troops a Voice

By Air Force Maj. Miki Gilloon
Special to American Forces Press Service

April 30, 2008 - One program on Phoenix's KFNX 1100 AM News-Talk Radio has a simple mission: give troops the world over a voice through a weekly show. Voice of the Troops debuted on News Talk KFYI last year as a monthly feature created by Dave Whitten, one of the original and current hosts. The show later moved to KFNX and evolved into a weekly Sunday feature.

"The philosophy is simple: We want to give a voice to those boots on the ground and hopefully be an outlet our servicemen and women can use to get their message out from the front lines," said Whitten, who currently hosts the show with retired Army Lt. Col. Dawn Lake, who served in Afghanistan.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Noel T. "Tom" Jones, commander of 56th Fighter Wing here, was a special guest on Voice of the Troops, helping the station kick off its fourth program. Questions asked of the general during the show included local topics such as the importance of the Barry M. Goldwater Range, encroachment issues and training in military operations areas. When Whitten asked Jones about his most harrowing combat experience, the general spoke of a night sortie he was involved in during Operation Desert Fox.

"We were bombing the Republican Guard barracks in the center of Iraq. There were anti-radiation missiles being shot at the surface-to-air missile sites, and when missiles hit ground, everybody woke up," he said. "There was a lot of triple-A (anti-aircraft artillery), and it was pretty eye-opening."

Listeners can tune into Voice of the Troops between 7 and 8 p.m. Mountain Time on Sundays to hear airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines talk about their personal or combat experiences. The program streams live at www.1100kfnx.com.

(Air Force Maj. Miki Gilloon serves in the 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office.)