May 30, 2010

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MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin fans are showing their Badger pride in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Reserve Major LaTonia Mahnke, wife of Wisconsin's football and men's basketball public address announcer Mike Mahnke, is currently serving the nation in Afghanistan with the 372nd Engineer Brigade, a Reserve unit based at Fort Snelling in Minneapolis, Minn.

Mahnke and her unit have brought a piece of home to their base in Afghanistan in the form of Camp Badger and a volleyball team. Mahnke and her fellow volleyball players wear cardinal and white Wisconsin volleyball t-shirts when they play together.

Mahnke has served in the military for 20 years. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in 1990. A Badger at heart, Mahnke is an Assistant Professor of Military Science for the Army ROTC at the UW. The Mahnkes have three children, Allie, Ty and Bethany.

Check back to UWBadgers.com for an interview with Mahnke to find out just what it means to be a Badger in Afghanistan and learn why the UW is so special to her.