Decorated Navy Veteran to be Toyota Tundra 'Salute to the Military' VIP Guest at August 30th Rams Game

ST. LOUIS, Aug 28 -- Iraq War veteran and Navy Electronics Technician First Class Petty Officer (ET1) Robert Bass of Troy, IL, will be honored as part of the Toyota Truck Salute to the Military this Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007 by attending the St. Louis Rams football game as the VIP guest of Toyota.

Bass is the second honoree in the Toyota Truck Salute to the Military this year. Toyota will honor a different military veteran at each of the Rams home games.

Bass, 28, just returned home last month from his second tour of duty in which he served as a Patrol Boat Coxswain in the city of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates from Oct. 2006 to July 2007. His 95-person unit was charged with enforcing a security zone around any United States or Allied ship whether it was a warfare or supply ship.

Bass was responsible for a crew of four aboard one of the unit's nine boats. His task was to identify and assess non-hostile and potentially hostile contacts, then determine whether or not to engage.

"Our patrol boats were fully armed," says Bass. "We kept any unauthorized boats a certain distance from the ships when tied to the pier. We did inspections of any vehicles using military working dogs to search for weapons."

Bass' first tour of duty was from July 2003 to Dec. 2003 in which he served as a watch stander for overall security at the Kuwait Naval Base with the U.S. Navy MIUWU (Mobile In-shore Undersea Warfare Unit) 112.

Born in Chicago, Bass moved to Collinsville, IL, a suburb of St. Louis, when he was seven. He attended Collinsville High School, enlisting in the Navy during his senior year as part of a delayed entry program.

"Enlisting in the service was always in the back of my mind, a childhood dream," explained Bass. "When it was time for college, the educational benefits of the military sold me." He chose the Navy for its opportunities and for a career field, picked advanced electronics. He was trained as an electronics technician.

Bass is currently stationed at Lambert Airport with IBU 14 as a full-time reservist on active duty. As an electronics technician, Bass operates, maintains and repairs all communications devices such as radars and navigation systems.

He received a Navy Commendation medal this year and was selected as Sailor of the Year for his unit based on year round performance. In addition, he was selected as Squadron Sailor of Year, Naval Coastal Warfare Group One Sailor of the Year and was selected to compete in the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command this past year.

Bass and his wife Adrian, from Collinsville, IL, met when he returned from Kuwait after his first tour and will celebrate their second anniversary next month. "She was nervous about my second deployment. Luckily, the first four months of that deployment were advanced training in San Diego so she got used to me being gone.

What was the best part of being home? "It was great to sleep in my own bed for a change. Those Sleep Number beds are great."

Bass completed his Associates degree while in the Navy and plans to get his Bachelors degree, then remain in the Navy until retirement. His wife and parents, who still live in Collinsville, will join him at the game on Thursday.

Toyota Truck will host Bass and his guests at the Toyota VIP tent, which will also showcase the all-new 2007 Toyota Tundra. The full-size Toyota Tundra is the largest, most powerful pickup truck ever offered by Toyota. It was designed and engineered in the U.S., and is built at Toyota plants in Gibson County, Indiana and San Antonio, Texas. Tundra's all-new platform features a significantly expanded wheelbase, an increase of 10 inches in overall length, nearly five inches in height and four inches in width. The new Tundra comes in three cab configurations and offers a choice of three engines, including a new 5.7-liter V8 capable of towing over 10,000 pounds.