Saturday - December 24, 2005

For The Troops

(UK GUARDIAN)—During world war two American troops away from home for Christmas were entertained by Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby and the Marx Brothers. Even in Vietnam Bob Hope was guaranteed to put in an appearance. But soldiers in Iraq are more likely to get a show from a Christian hip-hop group, a country singer you have probably never heard of and two cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys.

Just as the seemingly intractable nature of the war has led to a growing recruitment crisis, so the United Services Organisation, which has been putting on shows for the troops since the second world war, is struggling to get celebrities to sign up for even a short tour of duty.

It is a far cry from the days following the September 11 2001 attacks, when some of the biggest names in show business, from Jennifer Lopez to Brad Pitt, rallied to the cause. “After 9/11 we couldn’t have had enough airplanes for the people who were volunteering to go,” Wayne Newton, the Las Vegas crooner who succeeded Bob Hope as head of USO’s talent recruiting effort, told USA Today. “Now with 9/11 being as far removed as it is, the war being up one day and down the next, it becomes increasingly difficult to get people to go.”

Newton said many celebrities have been wary of going because they think it might be seen that they are endorsing the war. “And I say it’s not. I tell them these men and women are over there because our country sent them, and we have the absolute necessity to try to bring them as much happiness as we can.”

(AZCENTRAL)—They may be politicians, but they’re also a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. An all-congressional band known as the Second Amendments will perform for U.S. troops over the holidays during a trip to the Middle East and Europe.

The bipartisan rock and country band features Reps. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., on guitar and lead vocals; Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., on lead guitar; Dave Weldon, R-Fla., on bass; Jon Porter, R-Nev., on keyboards; and Kenny Hulshof, R-Mo., on drums.

While the name sounds political - the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms - it actually is the second incarnation of an earlier band Peterson formed a few years ago called the Amendments.

“It’s always nice to have a double meaning,” Peterson said. “We are all in favor of the Second Amendment.” The five-city tour is part of an official congressional fact-finding trip between Christmas and New Year’s Eve that will take the band to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Pakistan and Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The group will conduct official business by day and entertain the troops by night, with covers running the gamut from the Beatles and Eagles to George Strait and Toby Keith.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/24/2005 at 06:20 AM   
Filed Under: • Military •  
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