Middle East Tour - KUWAIT - Feb. 2007

For the month of February 2007 we embarked on our 3rd Armed Forces Entertainment tour, this time to Southwest Asia. The 3 week tour would take us to Kuwait, Qatar, Djibouti (Horn of Africa), United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Due to the on going conflict in the region, we knew this one would be considerably different. While Iraq, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan were a part of the original tour, they were pulled for unknown reasons the week before we left. Joining us on this tour were our good friends and fellow Baltimore musicians Luke and Steve from the Can't Hang band. We had a great crew for a journey like this.

Preparation for a tour like this is insane. Besides getting the music together for the trip, there was a lot of paperwork to be put together in short amount of time...faxes, documentation, visas, ID's, immunizations...and most importantly, the dreaded equipment list. By the time everything was under the plane and our boarding passes were in hand, it was time to hit the airport bar and relax. We had a 12 hr non-stop flight to Kuwait City.

Our time in Kuwait really set the tone for the entire trip. Due to the proximity to Iraq and the strategic nature the Kuwait bases provide to the war effort, the atmosphere was very serious. Each of the 4 bases we performed at played a different role in supporting the troops up "North"...some of them were pit stops for soldiers transitioning out of Iraq, some provided the final training preparations for soon to be deployed soldiers, some played a different role altogether. In short, it was the first time on an Armed Forces tour that we could really feel the positive impact we provided in boosting morale. Every show was well attended. We ended each show with a "meet and greet" hour with the soldiers, signing pictures and taking photos. The days were power packed with activity. We'd get back late in the evening to our hotel in Kuwait City, go out for some falafel or shwarma and crash for the evening (no bars, no alcohol in Kuwait). Our POC's for our stay in Kuwait - Broady, Contee and Ryan (Kenny G) - were very cool and on point with all the details.

~B. Gorman~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking to the DFAC (dining facility)

After Show #2 at the Scorion's Den, our POC Charles in the middle

Apparently they liked us better than Carrie Underwood...musically speaking.