Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap heading to Germany and Italy for NFL-USO tour

Carlos Dunlap is about to embark on a fun and rewarding international trip.

The Cincinnati Bengals defensive end will be joining Carolina Panthers defensive end Mario Addison, Atlanta Falcons guard Ben Garland, New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram, Minnesota Vikings running back Latavius Murray and former NFL head coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan on a weeklong, NFL-USO tour to Italy and Germany to visit U.S. troops and their families at military bases.

This isn’t Dunlap’s first international trip on behalf of the NFL. He also went to London on a promotional NFL trip in July 2016 with then-Bengals nose tackle Domata Peko.

The trip is an extension of the NFL’s Salute to Service work, which honors, empowers and connects service members through the unifying lens of football and strategic partnerships with impact-driven organizations. This year’s NFL-USO tour will feature an array of base activities consisting of unit visits, one-on-one meetings with installation leadership and spending quality time with service members and their families. Since 1996, more than 250 NFL players, coaches and executives have visited service members overseas on a USO tour.

”The NFL is proud to work with the USO on another goodwill tour, providing players, coaches and executives the chance to show their appreciation for service members and have the unique experience of engaging with our Nation’s heroes in person,” said NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson. “The League’s connection to the military is longstanding, due in large part to a strong partnership with the USO. The NFL remains committed to giving back to the brave individuals who fight for our safety every day and honoring them for their service and sacrifice.”

In addition to overseas morale-building visits, the NFL has supported several different USO projects through Salute to Service and in 2016, announced a $5M commitment to the USO over three years to support the expansion and refurbishment of USO centers and programming.

It sounds like it should be a great trip for all involved.