Olympic Medalist and NASA Astronaut Visit GTMO
Story and photo by Bill Mesta

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba—An Olympic medalist and a NASA astronaut were members of a group that visited the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NAVSTA GTMO) community on July 13.

Hijinks, High Kicks Give Troops High Morale
Story and photo by Pvt. Samantha Hall

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- The posters advertising them around camp read punch lines and pom-poms, but these women are more than just pretty faces with witty senses of humor. Comedians Carole Montgomery and Leighann Lord, and Miami Dolphins cheerleaders Kellie Covington, Fabiola Romero and Amy Madill, make up the Hijinks and High Kicks Armed Forces Entertainment tour that visited Port-au-Prince from April 27 thru April 29.

Medal of Honor Recipients Meet Troops in Qatar
Story by Dustin Senger

Congressional Medal of Honor recipients shook hands and signed autographs April 18, while meeting U.S. troops in Qatar.

'Legends of Aerospace' inspires Airmen
March 24, 2010
Story and photo by Nicholas Mercurio

As an unassuming man with wispy white hair and glasses walked into a room, the crowd of uniformed personnel turned expectantly toward the door.

Olympians to visit troops
March 10, 2010
Story and photo by John F. Russell

The members of the silver-medal winning U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team, shown celebrating Feb. 23 during the flower ceremony at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia, will go abroad to meet with U.S. troops next month. From left are Brett Camerota, Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane and Billy Demong.

'Legends of Aerospace' visit 'The Rock'
March 9, 2010
by www.afcent.af.mil

The first and last men to walk on the moon, the commander of Apollo 13, the last Air Force pilot "Ace" and the SR-71 chief test pilot - these are "Legends of Aerospace" and the most recent honored guests of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

C-17 aircrew scores touchdown in mission with NFL greats
November 6, 2009
by www.afcent.af.mil

The lone figure was crouched in his uniform, scanning the field from under his helmet for his intended receivers. But this was no stadium; it was a C-17 Globemaster III flying over the harsh and dangerous terrain that is Afghanistan. And there was no football, but rather, 18 much-needed bundles of food, water and supplies for troops at a forward operating base. The quarterback, in this case a loadmaster, found his targets. Touchdown

Base Knowledge: Military Tour Inspires
July 8, 2009
by buccaneers.com

Two Tampa Bay Buccaneers players recently accompanied a dozen Buccaneers Cheerleaders and the power pop band The Crash Moderns on an Armed Forces Entertainment tour of U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Japan. Not surprisingly those Buccaneers, safety Will Allen and wide receiver Michael Clayton, came back from their five-day whirlwind expedition with a greater appreciation for the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Bucs cheerleaders back
from overseas
by My Fox Tampa Bay
June 29, 2009

Several of the Bucs cheerleaders and two of the players just completed a tour of Japan and Guam entertaining the troops.

Spreading Good Cheer Overseas
June 25, 2009
by buccaneers.com

That, as a dozen members of the 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders team are now well aware, is a traditional cry of greeting or enthusiasm by a U.S. Marine. Apparently, it can also mean, 'Job well done!'

by Senior Airman Amber Bressler
June 16, 2009

Ramstein Public AffairsRock band Hinder performs for servicemembers and their families, June 5, 2009, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The Armed Forces Entertainment and Navy Entertainment indulged servicemembers overseas and at remote and isolated locations with entertainment to boost morale and welfare. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Amber Bressler)

Jim Tressel Visits Troops
From Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System
May 30, 2009

B-roll of Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel visiting troops. Scenes include him exiting McConnel Air Force Base in Wichita Kansas, conducting an interview while in the air, meeting troops while giving autographs and taking pictures as well as the Air Force plane being loaded and taking off.

Medal of Honor Recipients Meet War Fighters Overseas
By Dustin Senger
April 7, 2009

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar – U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Gary Lee Littrell, met troops at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, April 7. The holders of the highest military award were starting their sixth trip throughout Southwest Asia over the past five years, to thank today's military men and women for their service.

Military recruits emerging bands to tour bases, entertain troops overseas
By Christy Hoppe / The Dallas Morning News
March 30, 2009

AUSTIN – The military is looking for a few good bands.

And so a platoon of recruiters arrived at the South by Southwest music fest and pressed themselves into teeming venues.

Sugarland in Nederland - international venue a treat for the troops
By Tom Budzyna, USAG Schinnen Netherlands
March 18, 2009

BRUNSSUM, Netherlands -- A trio of trios led to an awesome performance by Sugarland to over 1,800 captivated U.S. Armed Forces and NATO service and family members admitted free into the Sporthal Rumpen here Friday, March 13..

Good Day Live Music: Subrosa Union

AUSTIN - Subrosa Union has found a way to simultaneously play music while helping people. The band is part of Armed Forces Entertainment and spends part of its time playing rasta rock to soldiers. Yearly around 130 bands, including several from Austin, are sent to bases around the world for a totally unique touring experience. video

Astronauts in Afghanistan
by Marine CPL Kimberly Crawford and Navy CAPT Heidi Stefanyshyn-Piper

Servicemembers at Kandahar Air Field had the opportunity to visit with guests who have traveled out of this world. Marine Corporal Kimberly Crawford introduces us to these unique individuals.

"Out of this world" visitors
by SrA Scott Johnson
AFN Kaiserslautern
February 10, 2009

High school is a time of preparation for the next step in life, and choices students make can affect the course of their careers. Meeting people from all walks of life helps students decide what they might be interested in. Senior Airman Scott Johnson takes us to Ramstein high school, where some “out-of-this-world” professionals stopped to talk with the students.

Endeavour Astronauts provide out-of-this-world experience for Ramstein students
by Airman Alexandria Mosness
435th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Ramstein Air Base
February 10, 2009

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- While the recollection of one's childhood dreams might seem absurd now, this is not the case for a few individuals who fulfilled their adolescent fantasies by becoming astronauts.

Six astronauts from the Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-126 mission made the last stop of their tour to speak with Ramstein Air Base students Feb. 5.

"I am deployed out of this world," said Army Lt. Col. Shane Kimbrough, who was a mission specialist on the Endeavour. "But there is nothing better than my job, and I wouldn't trade my experience for the world."

Astronauts visit Manas
by T Sgt Harry Kibbi
Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan
January 26, 2009

The crew of Space Shuttle Endeavor after returning from a mission of more than two weeks in space, took a road trip to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, to greet the men and women of the U.S. Military, to thank them for their service.

Tour Of Duty
by Carol Archer
Radio & Records
July 4, 2008

Why would an artist want to perform on U.S. military bases, possibly in harms way, not to mention without pay? Why, indeed? For starters, for the gratification of supporting the troops and bringing a feeling of home to nearly 500,000 U.S. military personnel stationed on more than 350 military installations worldwide. In September 2007, Durham, N.C.-based educator/saxophonist/bandleader Stanley Baird, an Army veteran himself, toured Japan, Korea, Guam, Hawaii and the Marshall Islands with his smooth jazz group for Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE). “The Armed Forces have the best, most appreciative audience that you can play for,” he says.

Stars & Strings
Wood & Steel: A Publication of Tayor Guitars
Volume 56 / Summer 2008

The Armed Forces Entertainment organization raffled a one-off, custom-airbrushed T5 at this year's South by Southwest conference held in Austin, Texas in March. Taylor had donated a pair of T5s to AFE, a department of defense agency which coordinates entertainment for U.S. military personnel at more than 350 military installations all around the world. AFE in turn arranged to have both T5s custome painted by artist Justin Barnes (jbgrafix.com), whose airbrush work has been prominently featured on the Discovery Channel's American Chopper program.

Hinder Performance at Lajes Field
Reported by Mike A. Falvo, Ssgt, USAF
Armed Forces Network
June 2008

NOISE: Music News and More, Played at Full Blast
by Peter Gaston
Spin Magazine
June 2008

Hordes of young people gather in the middle of nowhere, raising devil horns and pumping fists along to a rock-radio staple. Laser lights penetrate the deep night sky and catch dust particles launched by the stomping of boots on desert ground. But these are not Doc Martens in the Coachella mosh pit; they’re the combat boots of 5,000 men and women who are mostly wrapped in the sandstone camouflage of the U.S. Army, and strapped with M16 rifles.

Former "Class Clown" Brings Comic Relief to GIs Oversease
by Linda Steinmuller
Canarsie Courier
April 3, 2008

Comedian Tommy Savitt has been making people laugh since his youth in Canarsie. Born in New Jersey, Savitt spent his teenage years in Canarsie and graduated from Canarsie High School in 1988, and was known as the Class Clown. After high school, Savitt graduated from Brook-lyn College then attended Brooklyn Law School. After the first year of law school, Savitt grew restless.

Base Gratitude: Unsigned Acts Rock Out On Military Installations
by Cortney Harding
Billboard Magazine
December 1, 2007

When musician Prashant Vallury was wandering around South by Southwest conference last year, he was looking for opportunities to get his band, hip-hop act Animate Objects, some gigs outside their hometown of Chicago.

Air Force celebrates 60 years
by Staff Sgt. Monique Randolph
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
September 19, 2007

A lineup of top military officials, musical entertainment and the chance to meet those who made early Air Force history drew representatives from each service to the Air Force's 60th anniversary celebration Sept. 18 in the Pentagon courtyard.

watch interview video

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Band rocks Pentagon on Air Force's 60th birthday
by Tech. Sgt. Cohen A. Young
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
September 18, 2007

The Air Force's birthday celebration at the Pentagon will be rocking as an Atlanta rock band is scheduled to perform Sept. 18 in the courtyard here.

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Iraq & Roll:
Texas Music and the Troops
by Stewart Ramser
Texas Music Magazine
Summer, 2007

Country music good ol' boys Charlie Robison and Kevin Fowler brave oh-six-hundred wake-up calls, fire warnings an several stomach-churning combat-roll landings to bring a slice of home to our men and women on the front lines of the Iraq War.

Tour of Duty: Bands Go to Iraq
by Evan Serpick
Rolling Stone Magazine
May 31, 2007

On the road with the young acts the military books for the scariest gigs on Earth.

Armed Forces Entertainment
by John Schaffer
New York Public Radio, Sound Check
April 5, 2007

As the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, U.S. troops are serving longer deployments and multiple tours of duty. We talk to Wall Street Journal reporter John Jurgensen about Armed Forces Entertainment, a division of the Pentagon that scouts lesser-known bands to entertain troops stationed in across the Middle East.

listen to radio spot

Rock in Iraq: Entertaining the Troops
ABC News
April 4, 2007

Meet the group Edison, part of Armed Forces Entertainment for the 21st century.

Rock in a Hard Place
by John Jurgensen
The Wall Street Journal
March 24, 2007

At a U.S. military base in al Qa'im, a dusty town in the Anbar Province of Iraq, 400 soldiers crowded into a storage building doubling as a concert hall for a night last year.

Country artist Robison eager to entertain in Iraq, Kuwait
by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
Air Force Print News
March 20, 2007 Air Force Link

AUSTIN, Texas (AFNEWS) - The air crackles with anticipation, as he makes his first move.

G,C,C,G,C,C,D,G.

The letters are the opening chords of country music artist Charlie Robison's song, "My Hometown," one of the songs he will perform during an Armed Forces Entertainment tour March 18 to 27 to Kuwait and Iraq.

watch interview video

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listen to radio spot

Armed Forces Entertainment
by Julie Moody
KUT Radio 90.5 - Austin, TX
March 19, 2007

It’s all smiles for Tamara Moes and Melissa Welch with Armed Forces Entertainment. Photo by Julie Moody. listen to radio clip

This week, a group of Texas musicians are headed to the Middle East to entertain U.S. troops.

Last week, Armed Forces Entertainment came to the South By Southwest Music Festival to scout out new talent.

Texas Western players to tour Europe
by Rusty Bryan
January 30, 2007 Stars and Stripes, European Edition

Players from the 1966 national champion Texas Western College basketball team, whose success changed the face of college athletics forever, will tour European bases during Black History Month.

Armed Forces Entertainment bringing rock n' roll flavour to the troops overseas
by Jesse Keith
December 2006 BeatRoute

On military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan music is getting back to basics. For troops in the middle of the war zone it makes little difference what type of music you like. Whatever band is coming to town is the only band coming to town.

Military Finding Lots of Acts to Entertain the Troops
by Ray Waddell
March 11, 2006 Billboard Magazine

Regardless of one's political leanings, few in this business would deny U.S. troops "over there" the right to rock.

Troupe goes thru hoops for troops
by Robert Dominguez
February 21, 2006 Daily News - New York, NY

They've played some pretty tough crowds before, but a Manhattan comedy troupe is about to perform for the toughtest audience yet: thousands of war-weary U.S. troops in Iraq.

Good will played a part i it, but when The Fuzz Band applied three years ago to entertain U.S. troops abroad, the main motivation was to heighten its own profile and win new fans.

World Wrestling Entertainment wrestlers have made bringing Christmastime cheer to troops overseas an annual tradition, and this year they are dropkicking holiday greetings to soldiers serving in what they're calling a "forgotten" war.

LANDSTUHL, Germany — Triple H and a pair of World Wrestling Entertainment divas approached the hospital bed of U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Michael Larson on Tuesday night at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

Jenny Boyle didn't make it to Hollywood after her "American Idol" audition. And when the 26-year-old pediatric nurse sings in the smoky Northern Virginia bars where she's a regular act, she has to compete with the sports channel and boozy conversations for the attention of customers.

A group of Washington-area musicians put their personal lives on hold and took leaves of absence from their jobs to go overseas and cheer up U.S. troops. Jenny Boyle and her band…