CareSource, Dragons Team Up to Honor Local Veterans

DAYTON, Ohio - CareSource and the Dayton Dragons will host United States Air Force veterans Daniel and Nicole Powers during the CareSource Veteran Salute Program on Thursday, May 23, at 7:00 p.m. when the Dayton Dragons take on the Lake County Captains at Fifth Third Field. Thursday will be the second CareSource Veteran Salute date of the 2019 season.
The CareSource Veteran Salute Program provides veterans in the Dayton region with a once-in-a-lifetime experience to celebrate their service to their country. Each honoree has their story shared in front of the crowd at Fifth Third Field, followed by a standing ovation in appreciation of the veteran's hard work and dedication both in military and civilian accomplishments.
Daniel and Nicole's Story
Husband and wife Daniel and Nicole Powers are no strangers to the military. Together, they have a combined 40+ years of service with the U.S. Air Force. Although they both joined ROTC in college, they have very different stories.
Nicole isn't from a military family, but she always knew she wanted to join the military and felt it was her calling to go into the service. She attended Bowling Green State University and joined ROTC there. After college, her first assignment was as a Gold Bar Recruiter, where she recruited college students to join ROTC. In 1996, she went to Washington, D.C. where she worked at the Pentagon as a Communications Information System Officer. At the Pentagon, Nicole first helped with logistics and then moved to network security, where she protected the Pentagon from hackers.
After her three-year assignment in Washington, D.C., she was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. She was also deployed overseas to Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Iraq. After a final assignment in Florida, she went into the Air Force Reserves. Currently Nicole works as an Intelligence Officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Unlike Nicole, Daniel didn't think he would end up joining the military. He played football at Kansas State University but joined ROTC at K-State after taking a year off due to injuries. A few years after graduating, Daniel was recruited by the Office of Special Investigations as a Computer Crime Investigator and later became a Counterintelligence Agent, where he protected programming and assets for the military against intelligence agents from foreign countries when he was stateside.
During his almost six years of deployment overseas, Daniel was an intelligence collector, where he would visit towns and gather human intelligence from local shops and people. Daniel deployed to many countries, including Jordan, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, and 18 months in Saudi Arabia.
Daniel and Nicole met in Iraq in 2006, where they were both deployed at the time. Nicole was playing basketball on a basketball court on the air base early in the morning. Daniel was coming back from a night mission and spotted Nicole playing. After watching her for a few minutes, he challenged her to a game of HORSE later that night. Nicole won, and Daniel knew she was the one right then and there. They had to go their separate ways, but kept in touch and began dating a few years after they met.
Daniel and Nicole married in 2011 and moved to the Dayton area shortly after tying the knot. Daniel retired in 2013, and Nicole is expecting to retire in 2022. Daniel and Nicole like to spend their free time golfing, bowling, playing basketball and visiting their second home in Tennessee.
CareSource and the Dayton Dragons applaud Daniel, Nicole, and all those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Please join us in thanking Daniel and Nicole for their service during the Dayton Dragons game on May 23.
CareSource's Veteran Salute program highlights five veterans' stories during the course of each season. Veterans who are chosen are honored at a Dragons game with an in-game ceremony and provided with VIP treatment during their special night. The program is an extension of CareSource's continued commitment to serving special populations and its new efforts to support veterans through innovative health and life services programs. If you know a veteran who deserves to be honored through this program, please submit their story at www.daytondragons.com/veteransalute.
###