AUBURN - Members of the U.S. military are serving in many parts of the world.

A gathering in Auburn Saturday showed they are not being forgotten by people in this area.

Anyone driving on Genesee Street on Saturday certainly noticed the numerous yellow ribbons tied around the trees and parking meters near the Cayuga County Office Building.

The ribbons were displayed as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon, a national campaign held annually in communities nationwide in remembrance of military troops across the globe. The campaign is sponsored locally by the Auburn Family Readiness Group, which supports the Cayuga county-based 222nd Military Police Unit of the U.S. Army National Guard.

The Auburn Family Readiness Group held a ceremony to recognize the local troops. Saturday was Armed Forces Day, held every year on the third Saturday in May.

The celebration, which took place at the war memorials in Pomeroy Park, included a guest speaker from the U.S. Department of Defense.

“This is the first year we've done this,” said Danielle Barber, of Auburn, Family Readiness Group secretary and one of those responsible for planning the ceremony.

The group decided to pepper the area with yellow ribbons, which signify support for military troops, between now and Memorial Day.

The initiative provides a system for family, friends and support groups of deployed troops to dispense the ribbons in their community, along with guidelines for raising funds and holding programs in which to do so.

“(Operation Yellow Ribbon) is a good way to honor all armed forces, not just the Army, and it's a good fit with what we'd like to do,” Barber said.

Dozens of people descended on the park for the presentation. The keynote speaker was Auburn native Patrick Malvaso, assistant inspector general for audits at the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C.

A retired colonel, Malvaso has worked in various positions since leaving Auburn in 1964, including with NATO in Italy and as direct counsel to the U.S. State Department.

Malvaso's talk, which centered around not only honoring the troops but the U.S. policy concerning Iraq, was filled with positives.

“So much of what you hear about the war in Iraq is negative, but I'd like to focus on some positive things going on there,” he said. Since the U.S. occupation in 2003, he explained, the Iraqi economy is recovering, with its Gross Domestic Product nearly doubling, and many foreign and domestic banks opening offices.

“Cell phone use is skyrocketing, too,” he said. Iraq had virtually no cell phone subscribers in 2003, compared to more than 5 million subscribers today.

The troops are making a difference, Malvaso said. And many people back home are continuing to show their support.