BANGOR – Berg Sportswear of Corinna has been called up for duty.

The shirt and hat silkscreener is delivering the “mother of all” T-shirts after being encouraged by nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Howie Carr to produce them.

“The Captain,” as Carr’s listeners call him, wanted a visual sign to promote patriotism and America’s military muscle, said sportswear co-owner Robert Berg. What better way, according to Carr, than to have “the Mother of All Bombs,” the mightiest of precision-guided, non-nuclear munitions in the U.S. arsenal, prominently displayed on a T-shirt that could be passed out as freebies to some of his listeners but also sold as fund-raisers for two veterans groups in Massachusetts.

“The call” to the Bergs by Carr was aired a couple of weeks ago on a day that Robert Berg and his wife, Heather, happened to have the radio turned off. The Bergs’ customers, however, were tuned in, and telephoned them as soon as they heard it.

Carr, in one of his daily discussions on the war in Iraq, was pumped about what he views as the strength of the U.S. military and the sophistication of its weaponry. Listeners of Carr’s already knew he was in awe of the “daisy cutter,” a 15,000-pound conventional bomb that, according to military Web sites, is used as an anti-personnel and intimidation weapon because of its large lethal radius. When the bomb was dropped in Afghanistan, it was considered to be the largest conventional bomb in existence.

That was until the Massive Ordinance Air Blast, or “M.O.A.B.,” was tested by the U.S. Air Force at Eglin Air Force Base on March 11. The weapon is nicknamed the “mother of all bombs.”

Berg Sportswear, formerly Berg Enterprises, designed “Daisy Cutter University” T-shirts for Carr last year. They sold in modest numbers and were passed out to dozens of listeners who supported the U.S. troops and their fight against terrorism.

But “M.O.A.B.” so energized Carr, Berg said, that the radio talk-show host decided to air a request.

“He said, ‘Who’s that guy? Who’s that guy from Maine, Sandy, the one who made the daisy-cutter shirts?'” said Robert Berg, paraphrasing Carr, who was asking the question to the show’s producer. “‘Get him on the phone.'”

The shirts were designed in a hurry, and almost instantaneously the marketing of them took shape on Carr’s show. The Bergs’ Web site, www.bergshirt.com, is a link on Carr’s site, www.howiecarr.org.

Heather Berg said Monday she “couldn’t believe it” when Carr promoted the shirts and the Bergs’ business on his show, which airs from 3 to 6 p.m. on WVOM-FM, 103.9.

“I was just pale,” she said. “He gave our 800-number over the air. It’s been a boom from there. It’s been nonstop.”

Now the Bergs are flooded with demands for the shirts from listeners throughout the country. Their staff of 20 people is working overtime to keep up with orders. More than 2,000 shirts already have been sold.

“It’s been gung-ho,” Heather Berg said. “It’s been incredible. With Howie Carr, it’s at least a little bit of humor with what’s going on.”

During a show on Saturday, Carr said he gave two of the shirts to a woman in Seattle who has a son fighting in Iraq. Now, instead of passing out a few of them here and there to listeners who back the troops, Carr said he will every once in a while mail one to a family member of a troop in Iraq.

He said he hopes the shirts are mailed to the troops to motivate them and to thank them.

“If they’re not in the theater yet, they’ll be there soon,” Carr said.

“M.O.A.B.” is on two designs produced at Berg Sportswear. The first is a black T-shirt that says, “M.O.A.B. A Graduate of Daisy Cutter University. Howie Carr, president and dean of foreign affairs says, ‘It cost more … but damn, it’s worth it.'”

The second is an orange T-shirt that reads, “M.O.A.B. University: Baghdad, Kabul, Paris.” On the back is “Clyde the Camel,” Carr’s foreign correspondent in Iraq.

Besides “M.O.A.B.” shirts, Berg Sportswear is selling “support our troops” shirts at more than 100 locations throughout Maine. The shirts are white with a bald eagle head and a flag behind it.

The shirts sell for $12 each, plus tax and shipping.

Robert Berg said he does not want to be portrayed as profiting from the war. Most of the proceeds cover production costs.

“I want it to be known we’re not profiting from the war,” he said.

Berg said what motivated him to produce the shirts, other than the request from Carr, was his support for the troops and the Bush administration even though, at times, it is hard to agree with everything the president says.

“If I didn’t do it, I’d be unpatriotic,” Berg said.

Berg Sportswear can be reached at 278-7740 or 1-800-242-2374.