Now in its third year, The United States Air Force Band will present a holiday matinee program for school children in the Washington, D.C., metro area. The concert will take place on Dec. 5 at 10:30 a.m. at historic DAR Constitution Hall on 17th Street, N.W. between C and D streets.

The Marketing and Outreach office is currently accepting reservations. Last year's culturally diverse program was attended by more than 2,500 enthusiastic students, so make your reservation as soon as possible. An educational packet and concert details will be sent in October.

For more information, call 202-767-4310. Bus parking will be available, and reservations will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. Come and ring in the holiday season with The United States Air Force Band.

AAFES offers aspiring young writersopportunity for great prizes

School may be out for the summer, but the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) has one more assignment for military dependents. The ‘‘Back-To-School Essay Contest” will give students in grades first through 12th the opportunity to submit an essay of 200 words or less on ‘‘What AAFES means to me and my family.”

‘‘Most military dependents have been shopping at AAFES for their entire lives,” said Chief Marketing Officer Richard Sheff. ‘‘As a result, we are anticipating some very good essays from these young students on what the benefit means both to them as well as to their families.”

The essay contest, which runs from June 27 to Aug. 31, will consist of four categories (first-third, fourth-sixth, seventh-ninth and 10th-12th grades) with three winners from each category. First place winners in each category will receive a computer, second place winners will be awarded $500 savings bonds and $200 savings bonds will be issued to third place winners.

Complete rules, including release forms and specific instructions on submitting essays, are available at www.aafes.com under the Patriot Family Connection link.

Troops beat the heat downrangewith liquid refreshment

With the dog days of summer upon them, troops downrange are beating the heat by purchasing a wide variety of cold drinks. In fact, of the top 20 items purchased in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom last month, 15 were in the form of liquid refreshment.

‘‘It’s certainly no coincidence that with the temperatures ramping up there has been a significant increase in the number of cold drinks being sold at BXs and PXs downrange,” said AAFES Contingency Planning Chief Lt. Col. Peter Butts. ‘‘With an average temperature of 112 degrees this time of year, keeping cool definitely becomes a priority.”

Deployed troops seeking relief from the heat made Monster and Red Bull the top selling items at 85 BX⁄PXs scattered throughout OEF⁄OIF in June. Monster was the biggest seller with troops knocking back 284,482 cans followed by 78,753 cans of Red Bull.

‘‘As the heat builds through July and August, the public can help keep troops cool and refreshed while they carry out their daily missions through the ‘Gifts from the Homefront’ program,” said Butts. ‘‘Any American can keep deployed troops stocked with all of the necessities, without the hassle and cost of a traditional care package, with a BX⁄PX gift certificate that can be redeemed at any AAFES exchange, including 56 facilities in Iraq alone.”

Started soon after programs that allowed the general public to send mail addressed to “Any Service Member“ were cancelled due to security concerns and transportation constraints, AAFES’ military gift certificate campaign allows anyone to make a direct and tangible contribution to military morale with a gift certificate that can be redeemed for nearly anything that a specific service member wants.

‘‘Gifts from the Homefront” can be sent to deployed troops by logging on to www.aafes.org or calling 877-770-4438. From there, BX⁄PX gift certificates are sent to individual service members (designated by the purchaser) or distributed to ‘‘any service member” through the Air Force Aid Society, American Red Cross, Fisher House, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society or USO. These charitable partners have distributed 24,815 certificates, totaling more than $480,000, earmarked for ‘‘any servicemember.”