TriWest Healthcare Alliance Contributes $350,000 To Expand USO Center At Ramstein Air Base

WASHINGTON, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The USO is announcing that TriWest Healthcare Alliance is contributing $350,000 for the expansion and operation of the USO Center at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Ramstein is slated to become the only military transportation hub for Europe once Rhein Main Air Base closes in October 2005. This donation will enable the USO to meet the increased demand for its services at this military gateway to Europe. Currently, some 32,000 service members use the Ramstein USO; however, an additional 330,000 are expected to pass through the Air Passenger Terminal annually once Rhein Main closes.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO )

USO president and CEO Edward A. Powell said: "We are grateful to TriWest leadership and employees for their continuing support of our men and women in uniform. The USO is pleased to partner with a corporation that shares the USO's mission to boost the morale of our men and women in uniform."

"TriWest is proud to help the USO assist those in our armed forces who travel through Ramstein, many of whom we have the privilege to serve in the TRICARE West Region," said David J. McIntyre, Jr., TriWest president and CEO, who also is a member of the USO World Board of Governors. "This center will provide America's dedicated service members with a warm welcome, a comfortable place to rest, relax and contact family members, and receive the assistance they need as they await transport to their next destination," he added.

Located at Ramstein's Air Passenger Terminal, the USO Center will be extending its hours of operation and hiring additional staff. The TriWest donation will fund new construction, including a USO Welcome Kiosk, and expand lounge facilities, offering free Internet and e-mail access, refreshments, a home-theater area and other amenities.

TriWest Healthcare Alliance is a USO World Partner. For the last two years, TriWest chaired the USO World Headquarters' Gala and also partnered with local USO affiliates, enabling the USO to deliver programs and services to military personnel and their families in the United States and overseas.

About the USO

For more than 64 years, the USO (United Service Organizations) has been providing morale and recreation-type services to U.S. military personnel and their families. The USO is a nonprofit, charitable organization, relying on the generosity of the American people to support its programs and services. The USO is supported by World Partners Avon Products, Inc., AT& T Corporation, BAE SYSTEMS, Bass Pro Shops, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Clear Channel Worldwide, The Coca-Cola Company, Computer Systems Center, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Military Channel, Morgan Stanley, National Football League, Northwest Airlines, Reader's Digest, Sara Lee, S & K Sales Company, TriWest Health Care Alliance, the USAA Foundation and The Walt Disney Company. Other corporate donors, including Walgreens and the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-0600), have joined thousands of individual donors to support the USO. For more information on the USO, please visit our Web site at http://www.uso.org/.

About TriWest

TriWest Healthcare Alliance is a Phoenix-based corporation that partners with the Department of Defense to provide access to cost-effective, high- quality health care for 2.7 million members of America's military family in the 21-state TRICARE West Region, which is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and western Texas. For more information, visit http://www.triwest.com/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comUSO

CONTACT: Donna St. John of the USO, +1-703-908-6458, dstjohn@uso.org; orElizabeth Perrine of TriWest, +1-602-644-8356, eperrine@triwest.com

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