Exchange, Disney Travel to Poland for First Time To Bring Free Screenings of ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ to Troops

Two weeks ago, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service and The Walt Disney Studios were planning to depart for Iraq to give troops special first-run showings of “Thor: Love and Thunder” when they received word from Kenneth Limtiaco, contingency vice president in Southwest Asia, that Iraq would be too challenging to enter and exit, deeming it a no-go for this mission.

Service members give a round of applause at a first-run screening of “Thor: Love and Thunder” in Poland

Marla Smith Randolph, the Exchange’s senior vice president for Europe and Southwest Asia, recommended the group pivot to Poland since there had been an increase in the presence of U.S. troops in the country.

“Disney was open to that, so we quickly reworked the itinerary,” said Nalan Howard, the Exchange’s motion picture/senior restaurant program planner.

Howard coordinated new travel plans and event logistics with Contingency Operations Liaison Rick Finley, enabling the team to host free first-run showings of “Thor: Love and Thunder” for from July 6 through 10.

“I selected the locations based on the time given, worked the base access rosters, hotel rooms and worked this into a movement plan that covered about 1,300 miles of driving,” Finley said. “All of this was a team effort to bring something special to our troops.”

Finley also coordinated the viewing areas and assets working with local Morale, Recreation and Welfare, base mayor cells and the units ahead of the showings. Howard traveled to Poland with Disney’s Senior Vice President Ken Caldwell to host screenings of the film two days before its U.S. release.

Caldwell hand-delivered the discs containing the feature film. Each DVD contained a secret PIN for file access, providing added security. The MWR liaison in Poland permitted the use of sound systems at the venues. Finley’s projector and laptop were also used to run and display the movie.

About 1,200 troops watched the film. The Exchange and Disney handed out Thor coins during each showing, and Thor T-shirts were awarded during trivia games.

“The movie was hilarious and plainly refreshing with enough jokes and visual ambition to keep me drawn in,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Downer, who is assigned to the mission in Poland. “Was nice to see Thor back in worlds-saving shape.”

Howard was thrilled by the warm reception of the troops. She cites their excitement and appreciation as her favorite part of the experience.

“All of the military members wanted to take pictures with Ken and couldn’t thank him enough,” Howard said.

First-run movie screenings are part of the Exchange’s longstanding commitment to bring a taste of home to troops overseas and help service members recover during the stress of deployment. The Poland tour was the Exchange’s first event hosted in the country, giving the Exchange an opportunity to provide a morale boost and introduce new military members to the “family serving family” core value.

“For our junior enlisted, ages 18-24, this is their first deployment—they don’t know what this experience is like so the fact we’re able to partner with Disney to do this, it’s showing a new generation of service members the impact the Exchange has to their quality-of-life,” said Lt. Col. Shane Barnes, the Exchange’s plans chief in Europe.

Troops gather in a tent to watch “Thor: Love and Thunder” ahead of its U.S. release.

Barnes hopes to see more morale support for troops in the future.

“The ambition at the Europe region level is to direct the effort to Europe. Our NATO partners and allies are gaining attention in the Eastern Europe nations as far as providing security,” Barnes said. “We have an opportunity to highlight Europe as Southwest Asia becomes something in the rear view.”

The last time the Exchange hand delivered a movie to troops was in December 2019 in Afghanistan. Future showings have yet to determined, but Disney has expressed interest in traveling abroad to conduct more of these screenings in the future.