Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:35:31 -0600

Tuesday, January 30, 2007
If its Tuesday, it must be Saudi Arabia
The best way to describe the country of Saudi Arabia and Riyadh in particular is that it is a very very strict police state. Possession of drugs or alcohol is punishable by death and the punishment is by public decapitation. Theft is punishable by public cutting of the offending hand. This justice is carried out every Wednesday and Friday (and other times as well) on a square downtown called “chop-chop square”. Also unwed pregnant females are stoned to death there.  All women, western or native, must always wear a black abaye (pronounced a-BI-ya) whenever they are in public. If they don’t they will be fined and they and their husband deported. (The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were here recently and had to wear them. Now wouldn’t that be a sight to see in Dallas!) Women cannot drive vehicles. In fact, they cannot even sit in a front seat of a vehicle.  Traffic accidents are almost nonexistent.  Just kidding. Except for the traffic accidents part the rest is really true and a part of daily Saudi life.  Keeping this in mind it is important to rewind for a moment back to our stay in Kuwait. When we arrived there we found we had an extra large suitcase and upon examining it, discovered it belonged to a female Air Force recruit. We gave it then to our Kuwait liaison, Brodie, asking him to get it returned to the owner. However, the bag (unbeknownst to us) wound up traveling with us to Saudi Arabia.  So there we are in the Riyadh airport going through several security checkpoints trying to get into the country. They all went smoothly except for the last one. For some reason the armed Saudi guard didn’t like our credentials nor the fact that we were shipping in 38 pieces of unusual luggage - ie band equipment stuff.  He called for an inspection and directed Thom to bring a piece of luggage to open. Guess which one it was? Yep, the female Air Force piece. Thom tried to explain it wasn’t his bag. Yeah, right. The only thought going through his head at the time was “Please, God, do not let him find a gun in this suitcase”. Fortunately he didn’t. But he did find a combat uniform, a few bras and some Tampax. I told Thom he should have just admitted he was a cross dresser and leave it at that. Somehow, the guard let us through.  Our Riyadh liaison, Leroy, arrived with an interpreter. After many discussions we packed our stuff up into a van and headed for the base known as Eskan Village.  Eskan Village is not a US base, but instead is a Saudi base. There are no American bases in Saudi Arabia. The reason we flew into Saudi Arabia on a commercial flight is because no foreign military flights are allowed in Saudi airspace.  As a result, the Saudi security was intense getting into he base. We had to surrender our passports for a base pass before we could even get to the American security check which followed the Saudi checkpoints. Once thru we got to our quarters which is more like an apartment than a barracks. We were not allowed to take any pictures on the base with the exception of the show.  To try to explain the Saudi/US military relationship here, the commander of the base, a very likable Col Beasley, gave us a detailed description of activities here. This started as a base for the American miltary to train Saudi military  When the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait came about, the Saudis were not ready to defend themselves adequately and our military presence stepped up (this, of course, is what ticked off Osama bin Laden that eventually led to the Sept 11 attacks).  After Desert Storm and subsequent terrorist attacks on the Saudis themselves the training stepped up to deal with these issues. We’re told that the Saudis are now very effective in tracking down the “bad guys”. There is usually no trial. Just an immediate execution.  All that being said, the Saudis are generally friendly to Americans and welcome them to their country. It is very important, however, that their customs and requirements be strictly observed.  Knowing all this we were thrilled to have an escorted tour of Riyadh on the morning of our second day. A wonderful and informative Palestinian woman - Rania - gave us an incredible and informative tour. Here is Rania and LeRoy in one of the shopping areas:    We loved the various shops and had to refrain from spending more money than we did. The temptations were infinite. Here are a couple of pics of some Saudi shops:        I tried on an unusual Asian hat:  ( Think I should have bought it?  After running up the cash exchange we got to see the fort where the Royal Saudi Family overcame those in power. Here is the fort which is in the center of the city    and here we are in front of it    Inside the fort:    This is Chop-Chop Square. Look in the background and you’ll see some water on the tile. There is a woman washing the blood off of it from a recent punishment. Really    Nearby Phil played soccer with some Saudi kids.(check out the one boy looking up at him) He once kicked the ball with his left foot and the kids chided him for it. In Saudi Arabia, kicking a ball with the left foot is offensive to Allah. Really.    On the way home we passed Bin Laden construction. Yep. The same family. Apparently the Bin Laden business is involved in the vast majority of the building in Saudi Arabia. However, Osama has since been ostracized by the family.    Before the upcoming last show, we were reminiscing about this spectacular tour and our feelings about going home. We all seemed to agree that we had mixed emotions about leaving. We were ready to come home to our wives and friends but at the same time no one was anxious to leave what we have been doing. It left me thinking about it during the rest of the evening.  The show actually started out a little unusual in that this time we were playing in a club that was featuring a buffet and tablecloth covered tables with waiters and the whole fu-fu nine yards. This presented a bit of a challenge and brought back old memories of playing for people eating dinner, clinking glasses and engaging in conversation outside of the scope of the performance. About halfway thru however, Thom got the crowd involved with a sing-along and several other crowd pleasers that got their attention:     After the show we were presented with a plaque of appreciation and many thank yous and “You guys are GREAT!!!” statements.  Here’s a pic of the commanding officers of the base. Notice on their right they wear a Saudi rank and in the middle the US rank. 2nd from the right is General McCabe. We’re hobnobbing with the brass now.      All these men were exceptionally personable and accessible. I’d say the base here is under very capable command.  After packing up and heading toward the airport and realizing this was too quickly coming to an end, I think I came across the reason for our hesitation to leave this area of the world. It isn’t the thrill of seeing new and exotic places, cuisine or local color. Its leaving these incredible people we have met and the new friendships that have been forged. These men and women are dedicated, personable and incredible individuals and we have been privileged and honored to spend a little time in their world and bring a little bit of ours to them. I truly hope to be able to cross paths with many of them again and give my heartfelt thanks to them and their families for the sacrifices they make for all of us.    Our trip home is a pretty tough one. We take a flight from Riyadh to Zurich, from Zurich to Dallas and then Dallas to Nashville. Total flight and waiting time (including 3 hr arrival in advance at Riyadh airport to get all the luggage thru) is 27 hours and 45 minutes. We’ll arrive in Nashville at 7:15pm Wednesday January 31.  After I decompress at home and love on Gracie, I’ll post a few more special pictures, some emails we have received from several folks on the tour and some closing thoughts. So please check in again.   For now, thanks so much for going on this trip with us. We've all frequently talked a lot about all the comments we’ve received both off and on the blog and are truly grateful for the home connection.  More soon, Jerry
Posted by JerryV at 10:58 PM 3 comments
Monday, January 29, 2007
A Message From Gracie (aka Wifey-Poo) in Nashville
Hi there,  I just got off the phone with Jerry. They made it safely to Saudi Arabia. He sounded great!  He wants you to know that because of very strict security, he hasn't had internet access since his last post and he won't be able to post again until they reach the U.S. on Wednesday.  Tonight is the last concert before they are whisked off to the airport for the beginning flight of many connecting flights before they reach home.  That's all I've got - except, that I've loved reading all your posts and I know they mean so very much to HP too (that's shorthand for Hubby-Poo).  Hugs, -Gracie
Posted by JerryV at 11:52 AM 3 comments
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Last Day In Kuwait
Unfortunately we didn't have any time to really see Kuwait City, but we did get up early to at least go down to the waterfront a few blocks away from our hotel. We got a nice view of part of the skyline:    We noticed the defense bunkers near the General Assembly building and what we think is the Emir's palace:    We got up early today because the commander at Camp Arifjan wanted to do a meet and greet with the band (even though we weren't scheduled to actually play on that base). So we drove the hour drive south only to find the commander was out of town.   On the way out we saw a lot of tents all over. We found out that the well-to-do Kuwaitis like to escape the city life and spend a weekend in these tents. Our driver compared to someone going to the lake for a weekend in a log cabin.     Now why would anyone want to leave their comfortable confines in the city and go out and hang in a hot tent in the desert? Hmmmm? I don't get it.  From there we headed to Camp Ali Al Salem, an Army base that processes soldiers both north into Iraq and south to Kuwait City to go home. We met up with our liasons, Sgt Button (left) and Capt Sukhalall (right) who were very helpful and made us feel welcome:    (Sgt Button and/or Capt Sukhalall - it seems we left our little red notebook of email addresses on the autograph table. If you could email me (at jerry@jerryvandiver.com) to get it back to me, I would be eternally grateful. Thank you!!)  The band was great as usual and crowd was exceptional. Speaking of autographs, here's Thom doing just that:    There was a long line waiting for those signed pictures:    One soldier even sketched the band performing:    Tomorrow we head for Saudi Arabia.  More soon. Thanks for checking in!  Jerry
Posted by JerryV at 2:34 PM 3 comments
Saturday, January 27, 2007
45 miles from the Iraq border
We're staying at a really nice hotel in downtown Kuwait City. Here's a view from my room looking out at the Freedom Tower:    and from Cort's room across the hall overlooking the Persian Gulf:    Bob and I plan to walk down to the waterfront tomorrow morning.    We left the hotel this morning at 11am for Camp Virginia, an hour's drive from Kuwait City. On the way out we passed a new soccer stadium under construction. It is slated to hold 280,000 people!    We quickly entered into the vast Kuwaiti desert:    We didn't see any camels or oil fields on our short drive. :-(  However, as we approached the camp we found ourselves side by side with the famous road north to Iraq that had been bombed to smithereens during Desert Storm. This bombing prevented the Iraqi Army occupying Kuwait from grouping together or escaping. There was a famous battle here in which we pretty much decimated Sadam Hussein's forces and drove them out of Kuwait. Here are two pics of the remains of Iraqi tanks and artillery from that battle:      Right after seeing the "Iraqi junk yard" we crossed over that northbound road and it was at that point we were 45 miles from the Iraqi border - the closest we'll be to it. After several security check stations, we entered Camp Virginia. Here is a sign over the stage area:    Camp Virginia is a US Army camp that mostly serves as a "decompression" base for soldiers who have been in battle in Iraq or Afghanistan and are finally going home. Once again another new situation for us - and a nice one as well. These are the ones who lived to go home and we were sure glad to play for some soldiers that had a happy ending to this war.  Amazingly, one soldier met us right when we came in. He is from North Carolina (don't know why he was wearing a Michigan sweatshirt) and had heard Thom play at the Balsam Mountain Inn:    After a meet and greet with the commanding officer of the base, we had some time to kill there. There was a sale going on there in an open market on the base. Right in front of another American icon:    I was particulary drawn to one booth. I think Gracie would look pretty cool in one of these, don't you?    Alcohol and/or the use of it is illegal in Kuwait. So for the first time there was no alcohol served at this gig tonite. It didn't seem to stop the enthusiasm of the soldiers at all. The show started at 1900 hrs (7pm) and its a good thing, because when the sun went down that desert got cold! When I played, I almost lost grip on my guitar pick. The band, of course, did great despite the temps and got a standing ovation and lots of autographs and "thank yous" followed.  Here's a shot of the band playing tonite:    We met several soldiers with unique stories. One, Eric, was from an Inuit fishing village of 400 in Alaska. He talked about walrus and seal hunting there. There were also some other Inuit's from the area, but from a different village and they didn't get along at all on base - some old tribal rivalries.  Another was a soldier named Malone. I'm hoping Thom got a picture of them together as I wasn't able to.  And finally a soldier from Pennsylvania who has served 3 deployments in Afghanistan. He talked about his buddies still there, some of the battle action he had seen and some of the injuries his buddies had suffered. The really bad news was that he just got orders that instead of going home he has to go back there. I gave him a Red Neck Yacht Club t-shirt on the condition that he returns safe and sound once he finally gets his orders to go home. He smiled and said, "I can do that".  Tomorrow we leave for another show at another base near here in Kuwait. Looks like we won't get a chance to see any of Kuwait City as we'll be base bound all day and leaving for Saudi Arabia the next.  Thanks for checking in. Hope to see more comments soon!  Jerry
Posted by JerryV at 1:11 PM 4 comments
Friday, January 26, 2007
Operation “Enduring Band”
First of all, so sorry for missing a post. As you will see below, we got ourselves stranded and in a no internet access area for the last 24 hrs.  Now, on with our adventure.  Before we left Camp As Sayliyah, I noticed there were a lot of bulletin boards and walls of encouraging and supporting notes and cards from US school children around camp. Here’s one that was in our barracks:    When we got to the air base we noticed another group of soldiers enjoying a homemade turkey recipe book from some kids:    With the kids connection we also observed this airwoman waiting to go home:    On a related note, we met a soldier in Djibouti who had a small note on the back of an American flag from a grade shcooler saying her name, hometown and “our prayers are with you”. He told us he pulls it out every day and reads it. If you are a student, I would encourage you to have your class do a similar class project. It really means a lot over here.   The USAF air base here processes all the soldiers coming in and out of the base and all military operations in Qatar. They vary between 3,000 - 15,000 a day.You may remember that Qatar was the base of operations for Desert Storm and is still the center for “Operation Iraqi Freedom” so that means a lot of military personnel are coming and going here.  We left Camp As Sayliyah Thursday at 4pm to come to the air base for out-processing and board the plane to Kuwait at 8:45pm.  As I write this blog into my word processor, we are still at the air base and it is now 6am Friday-14 hrs later.. It all started when we boarded the C17 transport (a cool cargo jet) 2+ hrs late at 11pm. We had been sitting on the jet for a half hour when we got the announcement they were having mechanical problems and it would be 12 hours to get it repaired. Meanwhile there was a 3am flight scheduled to leave that we could take. But then a fog rolled in and all flights were canceled until further notice.  We, of course, weren’t the only ones stranded. About 300 Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine personnel were also. The majority of the stranded soldiers were heading to Iraq, so it wasn’t exactly a pleasant wait for them.  Several of them recognized us from the show and at first we broke the monotony by chatting with them about home, fishing, wives, girlfriends and military duty - especially jokes about the scheduling of flights under war time conditions.  I spotted a soldier who was carrying a pretty decent Epiphone guitar and it was immediately obvious what we had to do. So we took “center stage” - which means in front of the tv set (which was showing some boring tennis match) and put on an impromptu concert for the men and women stranded there. Once again they loved it and once again, were incredibly appreciative in their response.  Here are some pics of the performances.        and most important, our audience:    We agree that as much fun as the full band performances are, these unscheduled acoustic events are becoming our favorites. Knowing these men and women are going into hostile territory and combat makes us even more appreciative of our opportunity to offer a little entertainment and distraction from what’s going on around them.  Meanwhile, because we have no way of reaching our contacts at As Sayliyah, the air base found us a quonset hut tent with some cots. Here is our “home” from the outside:    And the inside:    Not exactly your sweetest accomodations. We met a soldier that had been stranded 3 days in this hut. Apparently this is not an unusual situation here. Rumor has it that some soldiers were going through this every day for 16 days. The problem, as I see it however, is those soldiers are being put through some harsh uncomfortable sleep-deprived situations and when they finally are put on the plane they are exhausted and from there have to go back into battle. Doesn’t sound like a good R&R plan for our men and women there.   While the others try to get some rest, we all are taking 2 hr watches in the hopes of hearing something regarding our flight to Kuwait. Its pretty hard on everyone with the sleep deprivation and overall discomfort, but compared to what the soldiers are facing, our situation is insignificant.  News updates as they occur....  *************************  Update:  It is now 11:30am and we are still at the air base. Our flight to Kuwait is now scheduled for 6pm tonite, - 24 hrs later- meaning we’ll miss our show there tonite. Fortunately, we were able to reach the MWR contact here and he has graciously given us a comfortable area to rest in, and we can try to get back on some semblance of the feeling of a normal schedule. We’re all pretty tired and looking forward to crashing on something other than a cot.  The media center at the air base restricts most websites and web email. They also do not allow use of any laptops and even my blog site is blocked - must be all those subversive comments.  Hopefully when we reach Kuwait, I’ll be able to check in.  **************************  Update:  Yay!!!!! We finally made it onto a plane and we are now checked into our rooms in Kuwait City. It is 11:00pm.  The plane we rode in was an Air Force C-5. It is a huge monster of a cargo plane that transports tanks, helicopters and band gear. It is purported to be the largest plane in the Air Force fleet, and I believe it.  We were very excited to be on the plane. When we boarded and were taken thru the cargo area to our seats, however, our exuberance was quickly quieted. There in front of us were 2 metal rectangular boxes each draped with an American flag. We were sobered by this site and quickly reminded of what is happening here.  Tomorrow we head for the base to have lunch, set up and do our first show in Kuwait.  Meanwhile a hot shower is calling me.  Back soon.
Posted by JerryV at 12:43 PM 3 comments
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
From Old Souq to Gold Souq
Today was a day off, so after sleeping in a bit,posting yesterday’s blog, and lunching, we headed into Doha (the capitol and only city in Qatar) for some rubbernecking.  Qatar is an Emirate or Arabian state ruled by an Emir or in some cases known as a Sheik. The country was a Saudi colony until 1979 when it became an independent state - with the help of the U.S. It is rich in oil and natural gas and is modern and prosperous. Lots of ultra modern bulidings and seeming endless construction of new buildings.  In order to move into the country, you must be sponsored by a Qatari, have a job and a home already in place. Here is the very modern skyline as it looks out onto the Persian Gulf:    Some mosques:    Qatar is known for its perfect salt water pearls. Here’s the gang posing in front of a pearl fountain with the skyline in the background:     Nearby we found the Qatari version of the Red Neck Yacht Club:    Guided by Major Willett, base director of MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation), we went into the city to an area called “Old Souq”. A souq is a marketplace and this was a great one. Very clean, and very upscale in an atmosphere of old architecture:    In the souq we found an amazing variety of colors, fragrances and tastes.  Here is one of the many spice shops:   Bob bought some dates here:    We even found a Qatari luthier:    I'd be remiss if I didn't find the local "paddlesports" shop:    Falcons are held in esteem here like eagles are in the US. Here is a shop selling falcons. I’m told that an untrained falcon here sells for $35,000 and up.    I liked these camel blankets. I wish now I had looked into buying one:    Thom enjoyed a puff of Arabian tobacco from a hookah in a coffee bar. These tobaccos are fruit flavored. Turkish coffee was served and is very thick and strong. I didn’t care for it.    From the market we went to the Gold Souq, an area populated by a large number of shops dealing in gold, silver and pearl jewelry. By U.S. standards the gold is purported to be of high quality and bargain prices. Here is the window of just one of the numerous shops:    We looked over a large display of pearls.    Finally we headed over to a great Qatari restaurant called “King Kebab”. Upscale food, and great prices. The food was a mix of Indian, Lebanese and with a touch of Chinese. We all had more than we could eat and the bill came to about $10 per person. The dinner party was a great one:    To answer some of the comments, yes we heard Arabic singing coming out over loudspeakers once in Bahrain and once here in Qatar. In Qatar it was at sunset and I was told it was a call to prayer. Thom got it recorded on his video, so hopefully we'll be able to make that available. We also witnessed a group of men in their bowing and praying routine, but didn't take pictures of that. As far as fragrances, the gold shop mall had incenses burning and of course the spice shops had some neat smells of spices, dates and figs.   The band is singing a combination of cover songs (Devil Went Down to GA, Sweet Home Alabama) and originals. Thom, of course does "Riding With Private Malone" and "Red Neck Yacht Club" both of which are very well received. Bob does some of his hits - "Busy Man", "Runnin' Out of Reasons to Run", and "Steam". I usually do "Athens Grease" and "For A Little While". Its a blast seeing the soldiers singing along on that one.  Tomorrow we think we are scheduled to fly to Kuwait at 1700 hrs (that 5 o’clock for you civvies), but who knows what will really come about.  We’re learning that when military red tape is combined with war activities that it is impossible to really know until we are on the ground and ask where we are.  So hopefully my next post will be from Kuwait.  Thanks for all the great comments!  More to come.....
Posted by JerryV at 11:20 PM 2 comments
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Sleeping til noon in Qatar
From Camp As Sayliyah - Doha, Qatar  Internet service is painfully slow here and I’m often disconnected. One of the reasons is a lot of the guys log on and play various video war games that slow the system down. It strikes me funny that they do this on R&R.  It takes a long time to post this blog, so if it comes up then I can truthfully say (as opposed to some others), “mission accomplished”.   We left Djibouti at 4pm yesterday and didn’t arrive at our barracks until 6am this morning. We got 6 hrs sleep and downed lunch, then set up the gear and did a and sound check.  There are a lot of restrictions on taking photos, so this blog will have only those taken in the area where the show was performed.  Our barracks are large square metal buildings that remind me of those storage buildings back in the US that you rent out to store your junk stuff. Except here they’re huge and inside instead of garage doors there are bays of bunks that seem to go on forever in a grid fashion. Latrine and showers are inside and a stroll of about 100 yards away.  Campsign:    Camp As Sayliyah is, among many other operations, a big R&R camp for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They get a 4 day leave here to get away from it all, so we’re told we’ll be getting a lot of those guys tonight for the show.  In fact, two R&R soldiers were hanging out at sound check. One was wearing a Titans hat and it turned out he was from Clarksville, TN. Another was from Kansas City and we had a great time talking Gates BBQ, the Royals and Chiefs. His name is GM3 Tony Sloan:    We made plans to get together in KC for some barbecue and beer. Tony, if you’re reading this, get home safe and don’t stand me up!  We met many men and women all geting the best out of their 4-5 days here before going on the front line again. These are the ones really seeing the bad stuff, living to tell about it and then going back.  The venue and stage area here was pretty cool. As you can see, it was a very large stage with a huge, huge American flag behind the band. Here is the band - now is that not perfect for an Armed Forces Entertainment tour?    Here’s a shot of me playing towards the end of the night:    After the show, they lined up for autographs and thank-yous:    Here’s Thom doing his usual great job of making each soldier feel special:    One soldier from Georgia asked me if he could buy my guitar shirt I was wearing. I gave it to him which blew him away. Right then some Navy girl came up and wanted my shirt (my, my I’m popular!) so he gave it to her:    And another soldier showed us his camera that had been in his shirt pocket under his vest. He got caught under enemy fire and a bullet came through the vest and stopped just at the camera. Here he is showing with the camera exactly where the bullet penetrated.    It has been very interesting as to the “what’s next” factor in this trip. First we go to Bahrain and play for the sailors coming off of sea duty. Then to Djibouti playing for those serving the base there and preparing to move “downrange”  And finally we come to Qatar for soldiers who are right at this very moment active in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are truly in the thick of things that we see sound and video bytes of on the news.  Tomorrow afternoon we plan to go into the city and tour Doha. No show scheduled tomorrow nite, so this will be our first official day off.  We’ll stay one more night in Qatar and then we’ll be off to Kuwait.  I see that several of Thom’s friends and family have checked in here. Welcome aboard - glad to have you! And thanks again to everyone posting back. I never get tired of it!  Onward.....
Monday, January 22, 2007
Next stop, Qatar
As we are waiting for our clearance to fly out to Qatar, I thought I’d toss a few extra miscellaneous tidbits of our time here at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, Africa.  On a light note, I noticed some base misspellings here and there    If you are “insure” of something, just ask:    I saw some ravens nesting on the base speakers. I imagine they are permanently humming “Reveille” all day. Just one of those songs you can’t get out of your mind.    The camp’s laundry facility:    Just like in the Boundary Waters, life finds a way to survive here in the dust and gravel. I imagine this is probably getting its water from the ac’s condensation:    This may be my favorite picture of the trip so far. I mentioned earlier how moving “Taps” is (each nite at 10pm) when the camp stops to remember its fallen soldiers. I was able to get a nice picture of that event last night:    One of the Army commanders was just incredible, really looking after us. Lt Col Coker. I told him his men are lucky to be in his command. He is 2nd from the right next to me.    One of the soldiers is a songwriter from Pensacola. He got up to play a couple of songs. Another guy was getting out today and came up to sing “Leavin’ Here A Better Man” to everyone. Very cool.    When we first saw our itinerary, the jokes quickly came out about Djibouti. But now everyone agrees this camp and its soldiers have a special place in our hearts.  We have a 6 hr flight to Qatar, currently planning on leaving around 5:30 this afternoon, but there’s not telling what exactly will occur - schedule wise, but hope to arrive there around midnite.  Again, I really look forward to checking in on everyone’s comments and emails. Brings a big smile.  Keep it up!  Off to Qatar
Posted by JerryV at 1:17 AM 11 comments
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Home Sweet Home or M*A*S*H 2007
Okay, I promised a tour in the previous post, so here goes.  The Republic of Djibouti is on the East coast of Africa shored by the Red Sea. This is my first time in Africa and although I had thought of previous visits to more exotic places like Kenya or Kilimanjaro, this will have to do for my “first” here.  Djibouti used to be a French colony, and as a result, Camp Lemonier was once a French base, but the French decided to build a nicer one up the road and leave this to us. There is also a French Foreign Legion base nearby as well.  It is purported that Djibouti is the hottest inhabited place on Earth. Temperatures have been known to reach 140 degrees F in the summer. I noticed today’s temperature at the thermometer just outside the med facility:    Remember, this is January 21.  The camp houses 2,000 personnel of all branches of the military but is officially a Navy base now. It used to be for the Marines, but with a war going on they were needed elsewhere.  We were given a t-shirt that I think summarizes the attitude here about Camp Lemonier:    I love, “Its not hell, but you can see it from here”.  Djibouti is a country of the very poor and the very rich. The upper class is oil $ rich, while the majority of the populace is destitute. There is not such thing, apparently, as a native Djiboutian. The "citizens" are either Ethiopian or Somalian. The average annual income is $450 per year. (I don’t know how many of them are songwriters) It is said that many of the males are addicted to a woody bush leaf harvested in Ethiopia called khat. Ethiopia is bordered on the west while Somalia is just to the south. Apparently there are many beautiful Ethiopian women that "work the bars" in the city. 96% of them are HIV positive.  Let’s take a walk around Camp Lemonier. First here is our home for 4 days and three nights:    Inside we enjoy"air conditioned" (during the 140 degree summers, the tents get down to about 100) comfort:    Outside there is a scenic view as we head toward the latrine and shower area:    Water is a premium subsidy here. Conservation is especially stressed in the shower area:    At the same time the threat of dehydration is high, so there are frequent iced down water caches around camp.    Then there's the state-of-the art movie theater and game room:    And don't forget the shopping mall for your gift shopping needs:    and then there's the recreation area, med facility, mulit-denominational chapel, and chow hall:            The food is quite good and plentiful on base and actually, life doesn’t seem all that bad here, but then again we are here for only a short time. Some soldiers have very long duty here, up to 2 years. That would probably make anyone pretty stir crazy. There is supposed to be a nice 2 1/2 mile hike to the Red Sea, but you have to watch out for the hyenas which can be dangerous. Since we’re locked down, we won’t have that opportunity    Moving on now to the show tonite. I’m beginning to feel like a broken record. The band was its awesome self as usual and the soldiers were their usual incredibly appreciative self. But don’t take that as me becoming hum drum about this. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything I’m more moved by this than ever. Its just that I have run out of any portion of the English language to exress it, so all I can do is show some more pictures.  Earlier in the day, the entire band wrote a "suggestive" song called "In Djibouti" (a six way publishing nightmare) that was a huge hit with the troops.  At the end of the show, the 2nd encore was “Sweet Home Alabama” and the soldiers swarmed the stage to sing with the band. The Beatles doing “Hey Jude” couldn’t have done better than this:       There were a couple of Marines from a unit who informed me that they had to leave a bunch of guys on a duty and that it was killing them that they couldn’t be there. They had the same duty tomorrow night for our second show. AND they were all shipping "downrange" to Iraq in June. Well, we couldn’t disappoint them and so after all the autograph signing, handshakes and thank yous, we went over to their duty area to play them some songs. We had to. We couldn’t have gone to sleep with a clear conscience if we didn’t.  Here’s a shot of me playing for them:    Thom and Bob:    And one more:    The Marine to my left in the picture above was an enthusiastic 22 year old from Alabama. I asked him was his duty was and he said he was a "combat engineer", which means (his words) "I build shit and blow shit up". He said it very proudly.  I looked into these kids eyes knowing where they were going and prayed, "Please, God, let them all come home"
Posted by JerryV at 12:27 AM 2 comments
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Hello from Djibouti, Africa!
Finally.   We made it to Djibouti. And it was no easy task, but it was a great one.  We left the hotel at 8 am Friday morning and waited to be processed for clearance to fly. While we were waiting, we noticed a VIP entourage and learned is was Sec of Defense Gates. We took a moment for a group photo op and to say goodbye to Manjou and Hussein and then went in to wait for our plane. We eventually loaded up into an Air Force C130    Here’s a group shot of us in the plane just before takeoff.    The flight crew was great, inviting us up for some time in the cockpit.     They had painted a logo on the ceiling and put up a license to kill terrorists:    So far, all the operations I have seen at both bases are noted as "Anti-terrorist", instead of "Operation Iraqi Freedom". There appears to be a lot more going on than just Iraq.   When we weren’t wearing the communication headsets we all had to wear earplugs for the entire 5+hr flight. Its an incredibly noisy plane but the leg room beats commercial liners hands down.  After landing, the crew asked for a group photo.     We were happy to learn they would be at the show later that evening, scheduled for 7pm.  After meeting our liaisons Chris and Will, we were taken to our tent barracks and given a quick tour of the compound. (I plan to take some more pics tomorrow and give you that tour myself)   We were informed that because the base was 20 miles from the Somalia border and Somalia was very volatile right now, that the whole camp was in lock down and we couldn’t go outside the base (we landed on the base). Too bad, because the normal routine was to take the visiting musicians into the city, check out the market and such and then go to a nearby orphanage and play for the kids.   In fact, the base had been in lock down since mid December and we found out that not only would we be staying an extra day, but the 7pm show was canceled and we would do the two shows the next two nights. That meant that we’d disappoint the flight crew who was counting on seeing the show (they were flying out tomorrow). We immediately decided to get the 2 guitars and mandolins and play an acoustic set for them.  It was an incredible experience to just show up, sit down, tune up in front of a surprised group of soldiers (all were there, Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines), announce who we were and then do a Nashville style guitar pull. They sooooo loved it!!  Here are some pics from that little show.        Just before 10pm we stopped for taps and everyone (including us) stood at attention to honor fallen soldiers. It was quite moving. Then Thom once again played “Thanks To You” and the entire audience stood up in honoring us. More tears jerking from me. In front of some bad-ass Marines, I might add.  Again, we were surrounded by thank yous and hand shakes and “this means so much to us that you would come here and bring us a little piece of home”. It is very very hard to describe how you just gotta love these guys (some women recruits, too) for who they are, their sincerity, dedication and heartfelt appreciation that someone - someone out there appreciates that they are holed up in this hot desert hell hole separted from family and loved ones, doing their job that we (yes, we) sent them to do.   It is also impossible to let you know with mere words how touched I am by all of this and how honored I am to be here.  Tomorrow, we plan on taking in the “sights” as they are here on the base, getting some laundry done and getting our computers cleared for internet. This is a very secure base and everything we do has to be cleared. We have no problems with any of that and are happy to cooperate.  So if you are reading this now, you know the clearance was successful and I was able to load this blog and pictures for you.  If you are enjoying it a fraction as much as I am, then we both are having a blast.  Thanks for checking in.  Tomorrow the tour.  Jerry
Posted by JerryV at 12:11 AM 3 comments
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
A fine display of military intelligence...
Before you follow this post, note that this is part 2 of the post below, "Another great nite", so you may want to browse that first and then come back here.  Back so soon? Okay, here we go.  So as I said below, we were scheduled to leave the hotel at 6am and board a military flight to Djibouti. We left the hotel with packed suitcase and all our band gear (a lot of stuff!) and just as we were walking to the gate to the military airport our liason, Manjou, gets a phone call.  "Your flight has been rescheduled for 0600 tomorrow."   What?!!?  "Be on standby, however, because we may fly out at 1200 hrs or 0300 hrs as well."  There was no explanation as to the change of plans. (BTW, when we didn't get our departure schedule until 10:30 last nite which created a hurried packing of gear and personal items right after the show.)  But what's a band to do? All we could do was head back to the hotel, check back in (at $120/night - remember this is being paid for by our military budget) and keep our bags packed - and just roll with the punches and smile.  Remember the old advertisement for the Army that said, "We get more done by 6am than you do in a day" ?  I don't think so.  Anyway, no tents for us tonite. Darn. I was looking forward to comparing that with my Boundary Waters trips. I kind of doubt we'll be at a 5 star site.  All that being said, I promised to post some more pictures, so here goes.    Bob seems to have picked up the language here quickly  I couldn't pass up taking this one. Starbucks is EVERYWHERE!    No one was interested in going in here:     Or here, for that matter, but this mosque is a part of a large Islamic center:     I know I've introduced you to the band before, but I wanted to show them to you when they are at their best. Thom is the leader/lead singer/entertainer/acoustic guitar player. Cort is an aweosme fiddle player. Here is Thom and Cort (I got a better pic of Thom, but the red-eye touch-up feature messed up and I don't want to embarrass him):    Bob does his share of singing his hit songs and filling in on the entertainment side as well. Not only is he a hit songwriter, he's a great, great guitar player:    Philip is a great bass player and knows how to have fun with the audience:    And finally, John knows how to make his drums happen. He was particulary rockin' last night:    And the real reason we are here. I can't tell you how many times all of us have been thanked by the soldiers and sailors for us coming over here. They are the most appreciative audience I have ever seen. This particular gang just got in only hours before. They had been couped up on a submarine for a couple of weeks and were ready to let off some steam. They definitely did that:    When I sang my Tim McGraw hit they were all singing along at the top of their lungs. Alcohol induced, admittedly, but I sure got a kick out of it. Even signed a bunch of autographs!   I'm having a blast posting these and checking in on all your comments. Please keep it up.    That's it for now. Except for the waiting.  To be continued.......
Posted by JerryV at 11:49 PM 10 comments
Another great nite..
Hi everyone,  It is 1am in Bahrain right now and we're flying Military out to Djibouti in 5 hrs. As the base at Djibouti is primitive - we're staying in tents and probably not going off base - I'm not sure when I'll be able to check in so I thought I'd make a quick post and then download some more pics and info later.  Today we got to see the city. Manama is the capitol of Bahrain. It appears to also be the only city, so that works well!  So for now, here are a few fun (at least I think so) pics of today's excursion:  We went to a mall/market. There sure are a lot of guys named "Al" here:    We see many many people in all kinds of garb, from western jeans and blouses to very traditional. Here are some hooded women coming into Al's mall:    And some men just hanging:    Here is a local tobacco seller, a very friendly guy:    And finally, I got a kick out of some cabbies in traditional Arab clothing:    Before I sign off, I have to mention that first the show tonite was awesome. The band was again on target and the crowd just loved it. You may have heard some news about a submarine colliding with a tanker in the Persian Gulf. That sub crew just returned here and was at the show.  Meanwhile one of the women here (maybe 20 years old) came up to me and told me her husband was on duty in Iraq and she was video taping the show on her cell phone for him. She asked if it would be possible for Thom to dedicate a song to him. I was able to get word to him and when he did, it got VERY emotional there for everyone. Jerked a couple of tears for me, for sure. Later that night she must have tearfully thanked me 10 times for that little favor. I sure hope he makes it home.  That's it for now. Thank you again for being here. It means a lot.  I'll check in from Djibouti as soon as I can.  Jerry
Posted by JerryV at 2:05 PM 3 comments
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
1 show down, 11 to go...
First of all, it was awesome this morning and checking in on all the comments keeping me connected to home. Thanks, and keep 'em coming. I never knew my knees were so sexy!  After posting yesterday's blog, Hussein took us to the Naval base here to tour the compound and check out the "venue" where we'll play. Security was intense as we approaced the base, from a distance behind the many barricades:    and closer up:    We were thrilled to find a poster of the gig all over the place. Here's the band and Hussein by one of the posters:      Later, Thom and I decided to check out the streets finding some interesting signs:      and by popular demand, here's a pic of me on a bridge we think crosses into Saudi Arabia:    Upon our return, we went back to the base for a short sound check and then the show. I have to say the band was just spectacular. The musicians were "on" from the first downbeat and the soldiers loved it. Thom put together a great set list of originals and covers that was entertaining, fun and very special. There were several moments that were very emotional for all of us when some songs were being played. During Thom's "Thanks To You" several soldiers stood at attention with hands over their hearts during the whole song! Another took us under his wing. His name is Sean, from Valdosta, Ga, is a helicopter search and rescue officer. Here is myself, Sean, Thom and Dustin, an MP from Oklahoma:    Sean was so enamored with the band and our songwriting backgrounds he went to his apartment and came back with some "gifts". I was stunned to learn he wanted to give me a naval helicopter flight suit! It even fits. Well, kind of.  Sidney, a good guy from India, was there to help with the sound. Here is me (in my new flight suit) and Sidney:    When it came my time to come up and play "Athens Grease" and "For A Little While", the band rocked out. It was a blast and a far cry from the "Bluebirdian" rounds back home:    After the show ended, a lot of guys hung around to talk. They love the connection to home, love to talk about their life here in the military and hanging with someone outside of their normal military routine. I was very touched by their dedication, sincerity and passion. I met one guy in a #10 Vince Young jersey (from California) and another, upon seeing my Titans hat, wanted to talk about Eddie George and NFL football.   Finally, we made it back to the hotel and one of the lounges had pool tables. One Arab befriended Thom and offered to let him wear his head wrap. Here is "Sheik Thom":    Meanwhile, Sheiks shoot pool, too!     That's it for now. Today we hope to see some Bahrainian sites. We're near a big mosque and palace (we heard some Arabic singing loud and clear in the streets yesterday) so that might be in our plans. The Bahranians are very helpful and friendly and it's very safe here to be out in the local color.  Tomorrow we leave for Djibouti.  Again, thanks for checking in and keep those comments coming!
Posted by JerryV at 11:01 PM 5 comments
Monday, January 15, 2007
Greetings from the Kingdom of Bahrain!
It is after midnite Nashville time but 9:40 am Tuesday in the Persian Gulf. I'm in an internet cafe across the street from our hotel. Here is a view of the city from my room:    After two long, long days of flying cramped quarters we finally arrived last night here. Bahrain is an island country between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.   We were greeted by Hussein and Manjou who got us thru customs and to our hotel. We are staying here 2 nites (off base). Nice hotel. We each have our own rooms. Get this. We pay $120 per room but are reimbursed by the Army. If we had paid less than $100, we would have to pay it ourselves. Your tax dollars ar work.  One disappoinment. As our schedules have been joggled around so much, the base wan't able to get our paper work in order to play on the aircraft carrier, so no paddling in the Persian Gulf this trip. We're all disappointed but are sure many more adventures are nearby.  Because we all arrived pretty exhausted last nite, we all slept great and don't seem to have any jet lag symptoms.   Breakfast was interesting. Some eggs and fruit (loaded with black olives) and curried garbanzo beans. Tasty, actually.  A few other notes of interest. In the city, we cannot wear shorts that are above the knees. I'm not exactly sure what would happen to us if we did, but I'm not going to test the establishment. We've seen a lot of people with various turbins and such, and even a few women completely covered except for the eyes.   The band plays tonight at 8:30 on the base. We're heading over there in a few minutes to set up, get the sound underway and then we have the day to do some exploring. We're all looking very forward to that.  I haven't had a chance to take many pictures yet - they wouldn't let me take any in the airport (security, I guess), but here are a few more.  This is check-in from Frankfurt to Bahrain:    here is a flight attendant from our flight on Gulf Air:    Finally, did anyone get that license plate number?  
Posted by JerryV at 10:42 PM 13 comments

ArMED FORCES TOURS