WHO
WE ARE: Founded in 1951, Armed Forces Entertainment provides the best in up-and-coming American entertainment to US troops and family members stationed overseas, with priority to remote and isolated locations, ships at sea, and contingency operations. Entertainment is provided to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Armed Forces Entertainment is an Air Force command operation and is the single point-of-contact with the Department of Defense for providing entertainment to US military personnel serving overseas. Armed Forces Entertainment is the lead agency in providing transportation and logistical support for the United Services Organization (USO) in bringing celebrity entertainers to troops.
WHAT
WE DO: Recruit, schedule, transport
and host up-and-coming entertainers for
performances at military installations overseas.
WHO
WE REACH: In 2007, Armed Forces Entertainment has conducted 130 tours that totaled 1,300 performances.
WHERE
WE PERFORM: Armed Forces Entertainment reaches 500,000 military personnel at 371 US military installations worldwide, including bases located in:
- Balkans: Bosnia/Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia/Montenegro
- Caribbean: Honduras, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Bahamas, Greenland,
- Europe: Germany, Iceland, UK, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
- Mediterranean: Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey, France, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal
- Pacific: Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Guam, Alaska, Singapore, Kwajalein, Hawaii, Diego Garcia
- South, Southwest, Central Asia: Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, UAE Qatar, Djibouti, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia
ALUMNI:
- Kid
Rock
- Brett Michaels
- Charlie Robison
- World
Wrestling Entertainment
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders
- HISTORY:
Over the last 54 years, entertainment
has served as one of the biggest morale
boosters for U.S. Troops serving overseas.
From the first muddy, make-shift stages
where theatrical performers sang and danced
for military personnel and their families
to today’s showstoppers that reach
military bases around the world, the Department
of Defense has made entertainment a top
priority.
The responsible organization for overseas
military entertainment has changed names
and jurisdictions over the last five decades;
from the United Services Organization
Camp Shows to the U.S. Army’s Armed
Forces Professional Entertainment Office
(AFPEO) and resting today with the U.S.
Air Force’s Armed Forces Entertainment
office. But the mission has remained constant;
to provide a program of live, professional
entertainment to enhance the quality of
life for Armed Forces personnel.
Today,
Armed Forces Entertainment is the single
point of contact for the Department of Defense
for providing entertainment to troops overseas.
To date In 2005, Armed Forces Entertainment
has conducted 136 tours that totaled 1,268
performances, reaching more than 500,000
military personnel.
- World
War II-1951: The United Service Organizations
(USO) Camp Shows program recruited and
fielded live entertainment for military
personnel. Camp Shows usually consisted
of well-known celebrities who were recruited
to entertain military personnel serving
overseas. For many entertainers,
this was their first time performing and
traveling abroad. However, the Camp Shows
scheduling, which was coordinated by each
Service, was considered inconsistent.
- 1951-1970:
Before the establishment of the Department
of Defense (DoD) in 1951, the Military
Services agreed to provide a single point
of contact for the USO. The Secretary
of the Army was designated as the administrative
agent for the DoD's relationship with
the USO. Operational responsibility rested
with the Adjutant General, then transferred
to the Commander, U.S. Army Community
and Family Support Center. In 1951, Service
representatives were assigned to the new
Armed Forces Professional Entertainment
Office (AFPEO) to administer the fielding
of USO Shows, provide shows where the
USO Camp Shows were unable, and establish
a regularly scheduled program.
Units consisted of celebrities, professional
artists, college groups sponsored by the
American Theater Association (ATA) and
the All American Collegiate Talent Showcase
(ACTS). The USO and DoD sent thousands
of entertainers, celebrity and non-celebrity,
to entertain U.S. military personnel,
DoD and Department of State civilians,
and their family members worldwide.
By the end of the Vietnam era, virtually
all of the programmed shows were non-celebrity
with DoD fielding over half of the units.
- 1982:
USO cancelled the non-celebrity program
to concentrate on the recruitment and
fielding of well-known celebrity entertainment.
The DoD directed the Secretary of the
Army to assume responsibility for the
non-celebrity program. In June, all non-celebrity
entertainment units sent abroad were participating
in the Armed Forces Professional Entertainment
Program overseas, nicknamed "DoD
Overseas Shows". In addition
to the non-celebrity program, the AFPEO
continued to uphold DoD's portion of the
celebrity show responsibilities with the
USO. These shows were renamed "USO/DoD
Celebrity Shows."
- 1989:
The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Personnel
and Readiness) assumed operational control
of the AFPEO with the Secretary of the
Army remaining the Executive Agent.
This assumption was designed to elevate
the AFPEO's authority, facilitate coordination,
and increase program visibility.
- 1997:
The U.S. Air Force was assigned the Executive
Agent for providing celebrity and non-celebrity
programs to troops serving overseas, creating
the jointly-manned office, Armed Forces
Entertainment.
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