DOD sets Combined Federal Campaign pledge record Published Feb. 2, 2005 By Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Cigars and roses were just part of the thanks handed out here Feb. 1 by Combined Federal Campaign National Capital Area officials after Defense Department employees raised a record-setting $14.9 million in pledges in the 2004 campaign.The $14.9 million figure far surpassed the campaign's goal of $12.1 million, and is $1.8 million over the $13.1 million collected a year ago, DOD campaign officials said.Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who serves as CFC vice chairman, called DOD's participation "pretty impressive.""I am immensely proud of what this department has accomplished," he said."Over and over again we keep coming back; over and over again we keep breaking records," he said. "At some point, it's going to become impossible. But it's not impossible yet, so next year we're going to break the record one more time."Mr. Wolfowitz said the record shows the DOD community is generous and committed to helping others."Wherever you look, whether it's wearing the uniform or as civilian, you'll find people with a strong sense of community, a strong sense of service, people who will pitch in to provide help when it's needed," he said.Such was the case after the recent tsunami disaster. Mr. Wolfowitz said the CFC deadline was extended two weeks to allow employees to contribute to the tsunami relief-efforts."I want to thank all of you in this campaign for making that part of our special effort," he said.Although the generosity is "clearly reflected in this record-breaking fund-raising effort," Mr. Wolfowitz said the numbers alone do not tell the story."It's not just the numbers -- those figures are impressive enough -- but the spirit behind some of the gifts is as amazing," he said.Mr. Wolfowitz said one anonymous employee gave a single gift of more than $250,000, but he said that every donation reflects the DOD community's generosity."Whatever the amount, you can be certain that every gift was given with a generous heart," he said.A breakdown of the donations shows all 23 components of the DOD effort exceeded their goals, and, for the first time, each military service raised more than $2 million. The Department of the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps raised $3.7 million; the Army $3.3 million and the Air Force $2.1 million.The Defense Intelligence Agency became the first nonservice component to raise more than $1 million.The average contribution this year was $296, with some 50,000 donors contributing.