Gary Sinise, Lt. Dan Band uplift troops in Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Nov. 23, 2009) – Gary Sinise, Leann Tweeden, Kristy Swanson, Kevin Farley, and the Lt. Dan Band joined troops in Afghanistan as a prelude to the holiday season.

When the Lt. Dan Band took the stage of Bagram Airfield’s Morale Welfare and Recreation clamshell tent, they seemed to electrify the air with their music in a big way. Farley, a comedian and known for his recent role in An American Carol, was the first to greet the thousand or so who came to see the show.  After a few jokes, he was joined by Tweeden and Swanson whose sly smiles gave the impression that they were up to something.  After a few well placed service-related jabs, they summoned a representative from each branch of the armed services to the stage for a contest.

It was up to each service member to sing their respective service’s song.  First up was Army – and Staff Sgt. Billy Bauer was put to the test.  With assistance from the assembled soldiers, Bauer pulled it out and won first place in the contest, receiving two tickets to anywhere courtesy of American Airlines.  Although Bauer was the decided winner, each brave servicemember received tickets for getting up and singing for the audience.

“Winning those tickets was great,” said Bauer, a senior intelligence analyst with the Combined Explosives Exploitation Cell, from Perryville, Md.  “It’s going to be a really good break when I get home.”

Tweeden, known for her modelling and hosting NBC’s Poker After Dark, is a soon-to-be military spouse and received a roaring ovation after letting the assembled mass know that she was here on her 12th United Services Organizations tour since 9/11 and will spend a second Thanksgiving with the troops.  Her sacrifice was not lost on those that came to see the show.

“Being here on Thanksgiving really meant a lot to all of us,” said Army Capt. Brenda Vianna, a battle captain with CJTF-82, from Alpharetta, Ga.  “Their songs and their message and their dedication really boosted morale.”

Tweeden saw no issues with being here during the holiday season.

“I think spending holidays with the troops is like being home – it’s like a big extended family,” Tweeden said.  “My fiancé is in the Delaware Air National Guard and deploys to Bagram soon, shortly after I return to the states, so I know what the families go through when their loved ones have to leave.”

Also taking part in the introductions was the command team for the Combined Joint Task Force-82 and Regional Command East.

“They’re here for you,” said Commander of Combined Joint Task Force-82 and Regional Command East, Maj. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti.  “To say thanks for what you do every day for our nation and our country.”

The crowd roared again as the sound of the intro to “Teenage Wasteland”, the theme-song for ‘CSI: NY’ began and Sinise walked out on stage hoisting his bass guitar triumphantly.  Sinise, an avid military supporter, and star of ‘CSI:N.Y.’ began a two-hour show with 11 other members of his group, the Lt. Dan Band, named for his well-known character in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump”.

“I like CSI: NY and obviously Forrest Gump was great,” said Army 1st Lt. Alison Wallace, a Signal Officer with the 82nd Division Special Troops Battalion, from Deep River, Conn.  “Gary Sinise is one of the few entertainers that support the troops openly, which is great nowadays.”

As diverse a group as any, the Lt. Dan Band offered up a huge repertoire of songs.  Their play list included Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,”  “Smooth” by Santana and Rob Thomas, Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman”, and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” to name a few.

For two hours, the Lt. Dan Band rocked the house and fired up the crowd.  Their percussion pounded, the singers soared, the guitars wailed, and Sinise furiously thumped his bass the whole time with a smile.

“It was a great show,” Wallace said.  “They had music for everybody and the show was well done and had a lot of energy.”

Energy can be a problem when doing a tour like this according to band vocalist Julie Dutchak.

“We didn’t have much sleep after travelling all the way here,” Dutchak said.  “But everyone in the crowd was so into the show they just gave us energy and we fed off it.”

The show was interactive as well.  On at least two other occasions, service members joined the performers on stage.  In one, more than a dozen female service members joined the group on stage dancing and singing to Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade.”

On another occasion, a tall soldier was summoned to the stage to be serenaded by two of the band’s sultry singers.

“It was exhilarating being up on stage,” said Army Spc. Matthew McKinney, from Indianapolis, Ind., a civil military operations specialist with Task Force Cyclone.  “I just went with it and took in the entire experience. I do appreciate what the USO does for us and we should make the most of it and I absolutely did that tonight.”

The stars also visited the Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital, a tour of a Special Forces compound, a look at an Afghan Bazaar, and a visit to a local Afghan school to hand out some school supplies.