UTEP to Celebrate Veterans

What: Veterans Appreciation Bash

When: Friday, Nov. 11, 2016: 9 a.m. Flag raising ceremony, 10 a.m. Performance by Fort Bliss 1st Armored Division Band, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Veterans Resource Fair

Where: Union Plaza, UTEP campus

The University of Texas at El Paso’s Military Student Success Center (MSSC) will conclude Veterans Week with a Veterans Appreciation Bash to honor all men and women who have served their country. The event is free and open to the public.

The event will include a flag raising ceremony presented by the El Paso Fire Department and a performance by the Fort Bliss 1st Armored Division Band. A resource fair will give veterans the opportunity to visit with representatives from community organizations to include Team Red, White and Blue; 346th District Veterans Court; Returning Service Members (OEF/OIF) from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Texas Veterans Commission and many others.

UTEP has long had a strong connection to the military.

The University and the United States Army have shared a significant bond for more than a century.

The relationship started in 1914 when the State School of Mines and Metallurgy (now UTEP) was located on the property of the former El Paso Military Institute, adjacent to Fort Bliss. Fire resulted in the school’s relocation to its current campus, but the school’s tie to the military only grew stronger. It provided training to military personnel during both World Wars. In 1948, UTEP’s ROTC “Fighting Miner Battalion” program started developing leaders.

Today on the UTEP campus there are almost 2,900 active duty military, veterans and military-affiliated members.