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NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Adrian Cronauer, the man whose military radio antics inspired a character played by Robin Williams in the film “Good Morning, Vietnam,” has died. He was 79. Mary Muse, the wife of his stepson Michael Muse, said Thursday that Cronauer died Wednesday from an age-related illness. He had lived in Troutville, Virginia, and died at a local nursing home, she said. During his service as a U.S. Air Force sergeant in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966, Cronauer opened his Armed Forces Radio show with the phrase, “Goooooood morning, Vietnam!”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed Sunday military service members overseas will be able to watch NFL playoff games after the American Forces Network resumed broadcasting, despite the government shutdown. "Update: @DeptofDefense has informed us that AFN has been restored in most places. Glad our brave men and women can watch the game today," Sanders tweeted.

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders shared a heart-wrenching tweet Saturday highlighting the sacrifices that the American military makes on a daily basis and continues to make in spite of what occurs in Washington. Elsewhere on Twitter, the Senate GOP shared a #SchumerShutdown Clock counting the hours since Democrats forced a government shutdown.Sanders tweeted a photo showing an American Forces Network TV screen saying “Due to the government shutdown, AFN services are not available.” AFN provides television and entertainment such as professional sports, movies, music, and many more simple pleasures to American military around the world. I received this from a young...

Here is one battle the Pentagon is not going to fight: Rush Limbaugh. Many of Mr. Limbaugh’s sponsors have dropped him in the wake of his controversial comments calling a Georgetown Law student, Sandra Fluke, a “prostitute” and “slut” after she testified about her school health plan’s lack of contraceptive coverage. Despite the controversy, the Pentagon so far is not going to review its decision to broadcast Mr. Limbaugh’s program on its overseas radio stations for U.S. troops, the American Forces Network. George Little, the Pentagon press secretary, said the AFN broadcast center provides the first hour of Mr. Limbaugh’s...

for those of you that want to know

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (NNS) -- Viewers and listeners of the American Forces Network (AFN) may experience brief programming interruptions from Feb. 28 through March 12 as the spring "sun outage" period occurs. These seasonal outages, which take place each spring and fall, affect all satellite communications, including the AFN radio and television services distributed by the AFN Broadcast Center from the Defense Media Center (DMC) at Riverside, Calif. Sun outage-related programming interruptions are characterized by a complete loss of signal for as much as several minutes. The interruptions occur when the sun's position aligns with broadcast satellites and Earth-station receivers. The...

A noted author and media watchdog has decried a decision by the Armed Forces Network to carry the first hour of "The Al Franken Show", a cornerstone program of the liberal Air America Network. Alan Skorski, author of "Pants on Fire: How Al Franken Lies, Smears and Deceives," says from the leftist talk-radio host's "so-called satirical skits that accuse our troops of torture at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, to his accusing talk-show hostess Melanie Morgan of conducting a 'propaganda tour' to Iraq this past summer because she was determined to report 'the truth about our troops' accomplishments,'" the addition of...

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2005 – World Wrestling Entertainment will offer its July 24 Pay-Per-View special, "SmackDown! The Great American Bash," free for broadcast on American Forces Network as a way of thanking servicemembers and their families for their service to America. "While our men and women of the Armed Forces are serving throughout the world, we know they are away from their homes and their families, so we are pleased to provide them with a little piece of home as a token of our thanks for all they are doing during this challenging time," said Kevin Dunn, WWE executive vice...

The American Forces Network will be making additions, shifting schedules and providing more live coverage on its television channels beginning Dec. 5. The AFN News channel will be affected most by the changes. AFN will add some of the top programs from the FOX News Channel and live broadcasts of “Studio B with Shepard Smith” and “Your World with Neil Cavuto.” The Cavuto program will replace the seasonal CNN “Inside Politics.” According to a statement by the Defense Media Center at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., there will be a better balance of the amount of FOX News available to...

  Army broadcaster’s morale boosted with call from Adrian Cronauer By Karla L. Gonzalez Sgt. Sandra L. Mercado, American Forces NetworkCourtesy Photo LOS ANGELES (Army News Service, Aug. 20) --What started out as a routine radio interview in mid-July ended up as a chance-of-a-lifetime meeting for one U.S. Army Reserve broadcast journalist. Sgt. Sandra L. Mercado, 22, with the American Forces Network, Iraq, spent the first six months of her deployment as the radio station’s morning show disc jockey -- so doing an interview with a Los Angeles radio station seemed old hat to her. “I’ve done a few...

Letters to the editor for Friday, August 6, 2004 European and Mideast editions Too much FOX News Which network was covering the Democratic National Convention on the AFN News channel but FOX News, with nothing but how bad the Democrats are performing. FOX News should be called the Republican News Channel. Not only did we have to put up with FOX critiquing every speaker at the convention, but we had three hours nearly every evening condemning the Democrats for any proposal they presented. Has anyone seriously examined the AFN News channel to determine how much time is devoted to FOX?...

AGHDAD, Iraq — American troops arrive for duty in Iraq with a rifle in one hand, a wrench in the other and a lot of American pop culture in their rucksacks. Personal CD players, MP3's, portable DVD movie systems, satellite dishes and laptop computers with Internet access allow soldiers to stay current with American music, movies and television, even inside the concertina wire at bases deep in a foreign society isolated by years of dictatorship, embargo and war. Advertisement When a day's combat patrol or reconstruction mission is over, the troops join the global consumer culture, retreating into the the...

Q: Joining us today is Deputy Secretary of Defense Mr. Paul Wolfowitz. May I take this opportunity to welcome you to Wurzburg, Germany, and the home of the Big Red One. Wolfowitz: It's good to be here. Q: I'm glad you are here, by the way. There's a major rotation taking place in and out of Iraq in support of the war on terrorism and the 1st Infantry Division going down to replace the 4th Infantry Division. What do you see as 1st ID's main role and challenges during this deployment? Wolfowitz: The main role, with all our wonderful troops...

AFN broadcasts from Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Senior Airman Brent Skeen fits an Iraqi student with a microphone for an interview after a ceremony to celebrate the reopening of a primary school here. U.S. military broadcasters hit the airwaves here Dec. 10 with the first manned American Forces Radio and Television Service broadcast from the country. Skeen is a broadcaster with American Forces Network-Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John Houghton) View Larger Download HiRes by Tech. Sgt. J.C. WoodringAir Force Print News 12/10/2003 - SAN ANTONIO -- U.S. military broadcasters hit the airwaves in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 10 with...