Outback and Ayla

Yesterday was rather interesting. Armed Forces Entertainment (please do not confuse them with the USO…more on that in a bit) brought Outback Steakhouse to Camp Leatherneck and the musician Ayla Brown. In the roughly five months that I have been here, this is literally the only form of entertainment that has occurred.

I found it very interesting that Armed Forces Entertainment would allow me to participate in their events. I bring this up because the USO will not let me use their services or participate in their events. We have a USO facility here at Leatherneck and because I am not active duty military, I cannot use their services. Apparently it doesn’t matter that I am an American citizen or that I work for the Department of Defense or that I am deployed to Afghanistan which is an active warzone. I have written the USO about this and receive no response. I can definitively say that I will never be donating any money to the USO.

Outback brought 45,000 pounds of steak with them from the States and more than 40 volunteers to help cook, set up and promote the event. Outback has been doing this once a year since 2002 and it is absolutely free. They are not paid for it and all they get in return is lodging while they are here (not to mention a bunch of good PR). Outback is owned by the same company that owns Carrabbas Italian Grill so we had some Carrabbas food too. The food was amazing. I can’t even begin to describe how good a bloomin’ onion can make someone here feel. I never really understood why little things like this would make a difference but I do now. Outback scored major points with me.

The mission over here is convoluted at best and most times the troops over here really couldn’t tell you why we are here. During the intermission of the concert, Major General Mills (the commanding general of Leatherneck) came up to give a speech to everyone. During speech he gave the microphone to the Outback spokesman. The Outback spokesman made it clear why they are supporting us. The Outback spokesman basically said that 9/11 wasn’t an accident and we are here to bring the fight to them. As long as we are over here, Outback is going to keep coming out to let us know that we are not forgotten and the cause is still supported. Please note, I have taken out the large amount of profanity that accompanied this statement. Whether or not you agree with the statement, it was nice to hear. I liked Outback before but I think I am going to give them a little more business now.

Ayla Brown is a former American Idol contestant and her father is a US Senator from Massachusetts (he won Ted Kennedy’s seat). Her music was average at best but it was nice that she and her band came out. Before the concert began, a Master Sergeant sang the National Anthem while the marines presented the American Flag. It is hard to describe this but I will try. Everyone was standing at attention and saluting the flag while the Star Spangled Banner was being sung. The speakers and amplifiers were purposely turned up so that anyone near Leatherneck would hear it. It literally gave me chills and that is not just because it was 41 degrees outside. Keep in mind that Camp Bastion is a British base and the song was written during a battle between the US and England. There were even a few Brits in the audience. With about 200 years between when it was written and now, it still stings a little bit for the Brits even though we are great allies with them now. This doesn’t even begin to touch on the overtones of blasting it in an active US warzone. It is something that I will never forget. It may be one of those experiences that you just had to be there for.

All throughout the concert there were Marine MPs (military police) all around the staging area for the concert and they had quite a few IED sniffing dogs with them. I was standing near the back, near where a lot of the MPs were, and I witnessed something truly unique. A group of TCNs were coming to enjoy the concert and their IDs were being checked (typical and per policy). All of a sudden a dog started giving his handler the signal that he smelled something. This sign is only given if the dog smells one of the chemicals typically used in IEDs. Needless to say, about 5 MPs tackled this TCN and “subdued” him. In this instance, the individual in question is immediately declared an enemy combatant and rules basically go out the window. This is done without as much as a word being uttered. I have no idea what the result was after they dragged the TCN off. It could have turned out to be nothing. I mean after all most of the TCNs here are tasked with cleaning and things of that nature and any number of chemicals could have been on his clothes. All I know is that I was about 15 feet away from him and when I recognized the situation, I had a simple thought. Oh shit. Nothing more and nothing less. A simple thought that was followed by more expletives sprinting through my head than I thought I knew. Before anyone potentially freaks out you should remember that the stories I tell you are nothing compared to what I don’t tell you. Now you may freak out but remember sometimes you just gotta have faith. Now please channel your inner George Michael and sing the chorus.