Los Angeles, CA - Rock bands KISS and Def Leppard announced their two newest roadies for their 2014 summer tour Monday night in Salt Lake City in front of a sold out crowd and both are veterans.

Kayla Kelly and Bill Jones were chosen by the bands after submitting their resume through Military.com. Thousands of applicants applied for the position and Military.com assisted the band in narrowing the field to the final candidates.  The winners of the two coveted roadie spots were announced between the bands’ performances by Sterling Poulson, Chief Meteorologist for CBS in SLC and a veteran of the United States Air Force, after 27 years of service.

The bands will be donating to two local charities in honor of each roadie being hired.  Def Leppard will be donating to the Utah Guard Charitable Trust and KISS will be donating to Veterans Mothers.

"It is our privilege to draw attention to the obligation we all have to the brave men and women who volunteer to risk their own lives to protect the liberties and freedom that we all take for granted. We should all jump at any opportunity to provide any assistance needed by our warriors. Heroes deserve jobs!" said Paul Stanley, lead vocalist/guitarist of KISS.

“Having our own wounded warrior in Rick Allen, we’ve always had a close tie with the military,” said Joe Elliott, lead vocalist of Def Leppard. “To carry on and further our contribution by giving a little back, and hopefully helping fulfill a dream or two, we’re more than happy to show our support.”

T McCreary, President of Military.com and a retired Navy admiral said, “We were proud to take part in helping these two great bands choose their roadies for the 2014 summer tour. Our veterans have diverse skill sets that virtually any organization can use and this is proof of that. I think these two veterans may have the coolest post-military job ever."

Throughout the course of their tour, the bands will be donating to charities including the USO, Project Resiliency/The Raven Drum Foundation, Augusta Warrior Project, Hiring Our Heroes, and Wounded Warrior Project.

About KISS: KISS remains one of the most influential bands in the history of rock and roll.  As one of America's top gold-record champions, KISS has released 44 albums and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. Decades of record-breaking tours around the globe have included high-profile appearances at Super Bowl XXXIII, the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Rockin' The Corps concert dedicated to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and special guest appearance on the 2009 American Idol finale that boasted 30 million viewers and a 2010 Dr. Pepper Super Bowl commercial and advertising campaign in support of their Hottest Show On Earth tour. KISS is currently featured in a major advertising and marketing campaigns for John Varvatos and Google Play. This April KISS launches their inaugural Arena Football League Season with the LA KISS Football team bringing professional football back to Los Angeles.  This summer AMC will begin airing a new reality series in prime time about The LA KISS first season. The KISS legacy continues to grow, generation after generation. The unparalleled devotion and loyalty of the KISS Army to the "Hottest Band in the World" is a striking testament to the band's unbreakable bond with its fans.  This year KISS will be celebrating two major milestones, their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the band’s 40th Anniversary.

For more information, visit KissOnline.com

About DEF LEPPARD: With 100 million records sold worldwide and two prestigious Diamond Awards to their credit, Def Leppard--Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums)—continues to be one of the most important forces in rock music. The group’s spectacular live shows, filled with powerful melodic rock anthems, have become synonymous with their name. For the past thirty years the band’s concerts have become must-see events and have quickly made them an institution in the touring industry, as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide.

About Military.com: Military.com is the nation’s largest military and veteran online news and membership organization serving active duty personnel, reservists, guard members, retirees, veterans, family members, defense workers and those considering military careers. Military.com enables Americans with military affinity to access their benefits, advance their careers, enjoy military discounts, and stay connected for life. Military.com is a business unit of Monster Worldwide Inc. More information is available at www.military.com.

About Hiring Our Heroes: Hiring Our Heroes, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, launched in March 2011 as a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and other strategic partners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, the goal is to create a movement across America in hundreds of communities where veterans and military families are returning every day. To date, Hiring Our Heroes has inspired more than 1,500 businesses of all sizes to hire 255,000 veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses. And as a direct result of more than 680 job fairs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, 21,600 men and women have found employment.

About United Service Organization (USO): The USO lifts the spirits of America’s troops and their families millions of times each year at hundreds of places worldwide. We provide a touch of home through centers at airports and military bases in the U.S. and abroad, top quality entertainment and innovative programs and services. We also provide critical support to those who need us most, including forward-deployed troops, military families, wounded warriors and families of the fallen. The USO is a private, non-profit organization, not a government agency. Our programs and services are made possible by the American people, support of our corporate partners and the dedication of our volunteers and staff.

In addition to individual donors and corporate sponsors, the USO is supported by President’s Circle Partners: American Airlines, AT&T, BNSF Railway, The Coca-Cola Company, Grand Canyon University, JCPenney, Jeep, Kroger, Northrop Grumman Corporation and TriWest Healthcare Alliance and Worldwide Strategic Partners: BAE Systems, BIC, The Boeing Company, ConAgra Foods, FedEx, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Corporation, Procter & Gamble, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG and Wawa Inc. We are also supported through the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-11381).  To join us in this patriotic mission, and to learn more about the USO, please visit uso.org.

About Augusta Warrior Project: Augusta Warrior Project (AWP) is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit that connects Warriors (past and present military) with existing resources to meet critical needs such as housing, education and health care.  AWP is a gold-standard model that is being replicated in other communities seeking to help connect Warriors with local resources. AWP helps all Warriors, both serving military and veterans of both pre- and post-9/11 eras.  The families of these Warriors may also be served by AWP. Warriors need not have been wounded to qualify. AWP has a four-step plan to improve the lives of Warriors and their families:

1. Connect with Warriors
2. Educate Warriors on resources available to them
3. Advocate to ensure Warriors have access to needed and earned resources
4. Collaborate with all organizations to ensure focus

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About Project Resiliency: Project Resiliency provides holistic healing education programs for wounded warriors and their families that are living with post-combat injuries and post-traumatic stress. These programs serve participants through teaching somatic, contemplative, and practical tools of managing and healing the debilitating symptoms of PTSD. Project Resiliency is a program of the Raven Drum Foundation which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Rick Allen, drummer for Def Leppard, and Lauren Monroe Allen MA, LMT healing arts practitioner and educator.

Project Resiliency Mission - To serve, educate and empower veterans and people in crisis.

About Wounded Warrior Project^®: Wounded Warrior Project is recognizing its ten-year anniversary, reflecting on a decade of service and reaffirming its commitment to serving Wounded Warriors for their lifetime. The mission of Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.