Reception Prior to White House Dinner to Honor Veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn

Media are invited to a small reception with service members who will be attending the Feb. 29 White House dinner hosted by President and Mrs. Obama to express the nation’s gratitude to, and recognize the significant contributions of, the men and women in uniform who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and/or Operation New Dawn, and the families who supported them.

The reception will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Crystal City, Va.  Media will be able to talk with service members from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 29.  Following the reception, the service members will depart for the White House dinner.

PLEASE NOTE:  No interviews will be conducted at the White House.

Media who wish to attend the reception should RSVP no later than 4:30 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 28 by calling Nick Simeone at 703-614-8056.

For information about coverage of the event at the White House contact Tanya Bradsher at 202-456-9275/9271.

Service members who will attend come from across America; from diverse backgrounds, ranks, and from all services, including Guard and Reserve.  Most remain on active duty, while some are veterans.  These service members and family members represent more than a million Americans and their families who served and made personal sacrifices in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.  The names, ranks and home states of the participating service members can be obtained via the following Defense Department Press Release:  http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=15081.