The Green Bay Packers and WPS Health Insurance paid special tribute to U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Jonathan Eisele, of Streamwood, Ill., during Monday night's Packers-Bears game for 'Operation Fan Mail.'
Eisele is currently serving in the Marine Corps as a logistics officer, and is assigned to Headquarters Battalion, Second Marine Division in Camp Lejeune, N.C., as the truck company operations officer.
From February to August 2013, Eisele was deployed to the Sangin District, Helmand Province in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During this deployment, Eisele served as the personnel advisor and assistant logistics advisor to the last 19-man Security Force Assistance Advisor Team (SFAAT), charged with advising the Afghan National Army (ANA) Infantry Battalion in the district.
In August, Eisele returned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where he is serving as a Platoon Commander. He is currently on leave and will return to the base next week. Throughout his career, he has received the Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon.
Eisele attended the game with his father, Elton, his mother, Nancy, and his brother, Brian.
Operation Fan Mail, which debuted in 2007, is designed to recognize families with a member who is on active duty. The Packers and WPS Health Insurance will host a family at each 2013 home game and recognize them on the field during pregame activities. A total of 60 families have been recognized with through the program.
To choose families, the Packers and WPS Health Insurance are asking interested families, or friends of eligible families, to submit an essay, 500 words or less, on why a particular fan should be saluted. Essays can be sent to: Operation Fan Mail, P.O. Box 10628, Green Bay, WI, 54307-0628. Essays also can be submitted to the Packers online at packers.com/gameday/gamedaypromotions/operationfan_mail.
Families intended for recognition are those that have a member serving on active duty. The family member can be a spouse, mother, father, son, daughter or sibling.
In addition to being recognized on-field prior to the game, selected families receive four tickets to the game and a care package from WPS.
