An overview of a crowded Turner Field July 13, as Country music acts Kenny Chesney, LeAnn Riimes, Brooks and Dunn, Sammy Hagar and Gary Allan performed. Among the concert goers were Georgia and Tennessee Guardsmen who attended courtesy of Operation Homefront. Inset Top left, members from various services are introduced on stage while at bottom concert goers crowd-in to sign an Operation Homefront banner. (Photos by Seth Stuck)

Despite a torrential downpour, roughly 700 soaked, but undaunted Georgia Guardsmen, joined nearly 43,000 country music fans packing Turner Field June 13, to see CMA Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney and other country music stars thanks to Operation Homefront.

Operation Homefront, which is comprised of more than 4,500 volunteers in 30 chapters nationwide, provides to more than 45,000 military families in need. The Georgia Chapter of Operation Homefront distributed 2,800 free tickets to servicemen and their families for the Kenny Chesney: Pirates and Poets Tour. Some 700 went to Georgia and Tennessee Guardsmen

Among the Guard families present at the concert were Brig. Gen. Maria Brit, Commanding General, Georgia Army National Guard, Georgia Guard Joint Chief of Staff Col. (Promotable) Tim Britt, and their three daughters.

“It meant so much to those of us who wear the uniform,” said Col. Britt, “to see these stars of country music honor our service this way. It was very special, for all who serve this great country of ours, to attend as guests thanks to the efforts of Operation Homefront, who provided hundreds of tickets at no cost to our men and women in uniform.”

Joining Chesney for Sunday’s concert was eight-time CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar, Grammy-winner LeAnn Rimes, and Poets & Pirates tour mate Gary Allan.

Tickets were allocated, said Kim Scofi, Chapter President of Operation Homefront- Georgia, “to various Guard unit Family Readiness Group (FRG) leaders around the state as well as active duty FRG’s and commanders who have Guard units at their post.”

Operation Homefront weathered the conditions and teamed up with Hooters restaurant and country music radio station “94.9 The Bull” to dispense tickets and T-shirts to participating families of the armed forces. Hooters’ girls charmed the passing crowd by signing autographs, posing for pictures, and handing out free calendars, magazines, and koozies.

With just one part-time and three-full time employees, Operation Homefront-Georgia annually seeks assistance from more than 400 volunteers statewide.. The organization is entirely funded by private donations, and last year provided approximately $632,000 in goods and services to Georgia’s armed forces.

Over the past year, Operation Homefront has donated more than $5 million to military families in crisis, provided goods and services valued at more than $6.5 million to assist military families, transported more than 20,000 care packages to soldiers abroad; delivered more than 2,500 packages to military families at home, helped more than 3,000 families receive vehicle donations or repairs; and, distributed more than 20,000 backpacks to military children headed back to school.

Operation Homefront is one of a handful of organizations to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Defense, and it also operates CinCHouse, the online community of nearly 400,000 military wives and women in uniform who reach out to the youngest military families to help them succeed in military life.

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