Navy officer and NFL star Joe Cardona honored for service, calls for unity

On Wednesday, Joe Cardona, a New England Patriots player, was chosen as the Salute to Service Award winner. In the final of this honor, he won with Green Bay Packers Aaron Jones and George Kittle from the San Francisco 49ers.

Salute to Service Award is USAA and NFL's annual honoring of people related to the league who commit and support military and veteran communities. In keeping with tradition and tradition, USAA is donating $25,000 on Cardona's behalf to organizations that help all branches of the military. The NFL, in turn, will donate another $25,000 to Cardona's chosen military charity.

Besides being a New England Patriots long snapper, Joe Cardona is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He worked as the Command Duty Officer at the Naval Academy Preparatory School and, in 2019, was promoted to lieutenant. The player is now a member of the Navy Reserve and serves in Maritime Expeditionary Security Force.

"Joe Cardona represents the epitome of the NFL's Salute to Service Award. His commitment to honoring, empowering, and connecting with the military community as an active service member, while also dedicated to his Patriots teammates, truly sets him apart. He is the true embodiment of what it means to be an American hero. The entire NFL family salutes Joe for his service to our country and congratulates him as the recipient of this important award", said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, quoted by the official NFL Operations website.

Sources: Fox News, NFL