Carnival of Madness - Blogged by N8

So, when I was in Germany I got to see Shinedown in concert in Frankfurt. Shortly before I came home, I saw that they were going to be headlining a festival tour called the "Carnival of Madness" after I came home. I begged and begged JME if we could go after I got home and she finally told me that we could. Unfortunately, the closest they were coming to O-Town was Casper, WY, so we had to make a road trip.

We left early in the morning and drove about seven hours to the small town of Casper. Why they chose to hold a huge festival concert in such a small town and completely pass SLC is beyond me. Anyway, we got settled in our hotel, grabbed a delicious meal at a local Mexican restaurant and we headed up to the Casper Events Center.

We got there and they separated the lines into male and female so that they could search us before going inside. A few guys were standing behind us in line and they were talking to every event worker that walked past and calling them by their first names. One of them walked up to them and asked them to huddle up close. So, they all started whispering and I heard the event worker say that they were giving away pink wristbands to the first 200 people that bought a Shinedown CD that would get them to a meet and greet after the show. So, the second I made it through the security guards, I ran to the nearest souvenir stand and bought 2 CD's for us. Along with that came 2 wristbands to meet SHINEDOWN!



Opening the show was the Knoxville, TN band Ten Years. They are known for such songs as Wasteland, So Long Goodbye, and Beautiful.




After them was Sevendust, a group from Atlanta, GA. I have seen them before. They are known for a pretty wild stage show. They are famous for such songs as Angel's Son, Denial, and Enemy.




After them was Puddle of Mudd from Kansas City, MO. I've seen them before also. They are known for such songs as Blurry, Psycho, and She Hates Me.




After that came Chevelle. They are from Chicago, IL. I was really impressed by them. They put on a great show. They are known for such songs as Vitamin R (Leading Us Along), The Clincher, and The Red.




After that came the main attraction, SHINEDOWN! They are from Jacksonville, FL. This was the 5th time I've seen them. What an amazing show they put on! Their set list, which I wrote down as they went a long, went like this: Sound of Madness, Devour, I Dare You, Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide, If You Only Knew, Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom), 45, Burning Bright, Heroes, The Crow and the Butterfly, Her Name Is Alice, Save Me, Left Out, Simple Man, Fly From the Inside, and Second Chance. It was an amazing show with a lot of visual effects on jumbo screens everywhere and great music. Their singer Brent always does a great job of firing up the audience and getting everyone into the show. It was a lot of fun!












After the show was over, we met up with the rest of the people with the pink wristbands where we were lined up to meet Shinedown. We were told that we couldn't take pictures with the band, but we could take pictures while we were waiting in line. Here are a couple that I snapped.




They were very friendly to both of us. They thanked me for my military service and signed the CD booklets and our tickets. In return, I presented Brent with the coin from the First and Second Class Petty Officer's Association at Landstuhl.




It was the best festival concert I have ever been to. It was a great way to celebrate coming home.

Special Independence Day Guests - Blogged by N8

The thing I love about working in a place like this is that we constantly have very special visitors that come through. I've met more general officers and politicians than some people in the Pentagon. I've seen more celebrities than Hollywood. I've seen more athletes than the Olympics. They all have one thing in common: They know that supporting your troops takes more than cheering them on from your living room sofa.

On Saturday, the 3rd, we had a few special guests come through. The first was someone I had the privilege of meeting briefly last December. Gary Sinise came through again!



This time wasn't as rushed as last time. In fact, he toured the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center and I got to do part of the brief. He was very interested in donating to us, so I got to give him our literature and explain different parts of it. He was very down to earth and interested in what I had to say. I have been very impressed with his patriotic spirit and really appreciate his support.

The other special visitor was, in my opinion, the most amazing distinguished visitor I've met. His name is Leo Thorsness, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.



Mr. Thorsness was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for an air engagement he was involved in during the Vietnam War. Two weeks after receiving it, he was shot down and spent 6 years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. He was also a senator for the state of Washington.

It was an honor to meet him and to talk to him about his experience. He was so cool! When he first came into the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center, he completely by-passed our Colonel and started talking to me and asking me questions about our program. I felt really awkward because our Colonel started giving the rest of his group our brief and he kept talking to me. So, I quickly tried to get him to listen to the brief and said, "Sir, I think that some of the questions you have will be answered in our Command Chaplain's brief." He looked at our Colonel and then back to me and said, "Oh, what does he know? You're the one that does all the work around here!" I had tears in my eyes from trying to hold in the laughter. He also informed us that before he became an officer he was a Chaplain's Assistant, so I have a special bond with him. It was an honor to shake the hand of a living Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

They made it a very relaxed afternoon where everyone had a few minutes to meet and chat with our VIP's. They even sat down and had lunch with us. What a neat 4th of July!

"That's One Small Step For Man..." Blogged by N8

Last week, Chaplain S. came into my office and informed me that we were expecting a Distinguished Visitor trip up in one of the wards that he works in. These are a normal occurence around here, so I casually asked, "Who is it sir?" He grinned at me and said, "A few astronauts. Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Gene Cernan." I almost fell out of my chair! So, I stayed late after work and hung out in his ward for almost two hours, but it was definitely worth the wait!

They all came as part of the "Legends of Aerospace Tour" which has a total of six famous people in aerospace. First and foremost was Neil Armstrong. Of course we all know who he is. He is the guy that every kid in the world wants to be at one time or another. He was the first person to walk on the moon.



Next was Jim Lovell. He is famous for his line, "Houston, we have a problem..." That's right, the man that Tom Hanks played in the movie Apollo 13 was there as well!



Also with them was Gene Cernan. He was the last person to leave his footprints on the moon. This happened on December 14th, 1972.



They also had a few people that are famous for flying jets as well. One was Steve Ritchie. He is the only USAF "Ace" fighter pilot since the Korean War. He is an "Ace" because he had 5 MiG-21 kills between May to August of 1972.



Another pilot was Robert J. Gilliland. He was the first pilot to fly the SR-71 Blackbird. He has logged more time above Mach 2 and Mach 3 than anyone else.



Their moderator was David Hartman. He was the original host of "Good Morning America" from 1975 to 1987. He is a retired Air Force officer and is an Aviation and Space writer.



They all came through pretty rushed, so I was only able to take a few pictures that weren't blurry.

This is Gene Cernan. Jim Lovell is in the background.



This is Jim Lovell and Neil Armstrong.



The whole thing was really rushed and I wasn't able to get a whole lot of pictures, but there was an Air Force Colonel there that saw me waiting patiently to get a picture with Neil Armstrong, so he held up the group while I got a picture with him and Jim Lovell while they were walking down the hall. Thanks Sir!!!

Christmas VIP Visits Blogged by N8

With the approaching Christmas Holiday, it is tradition for the USO to have celebrities visit the troops who are deployed overseas. So, we had a recent visit from a few celbrities this last Sunday.

The first one I got to meet was Anna Kournikova. I was really excited to meet her because she used to date my favorite hockey player of all time, Sergei Fedorov.



The next one I met was Dave Attell. He's a comedian famous for his show on Comedy Central "Insomnia".



I had never heard of this next guy before, but he was really nice. His name is Nick Bollettieri. He's a famous tennis coach.



The biggest celebrity there was Billy Ray Cyrus. He was a lot taller than I thought he'd be.



My favorite person there, however, was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. He is the former Chief of Naval Operations and now has Colin Powell's old job. He was super nice and even gave me a coin. I think that is the most valued coin in my collection, so far.





On my way back to my apartment, I swung by my office and my boss Chaplain M was there. I htought it odd for him to be there on a Sunday, so I asked him why. He said the Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, was coming and he told me to stick around so I could meet him. So, he came in and we talked about the Wounded Warrior Center for a while. When he left, he thanked us for our service and gave us each a coin! So, I got coined twice in the same morning!

Celebrities!!! Blogged by N8

Well everyone. I just want to say that being in the military does have it's perks at times. Especially being stationed where I am right now. We get the opportunity to meet a lot of neat people. The Saturday before Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to meet several celebrities.



First was Milo Ventimiglia. He's most well-known for playing Peter in "Heroes" and roles in such movies as "Rocky Balboa" and "Stay Alive".



Next was Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols. They are both from the TV series "One Tree Hill". She was also in "The Hitcher" and "Stay Alive". He was also in "Glory Road" and "The Day After Tomorrow".




Later in the evening we were visited by a whole crew of celebrities. First was Leeann Tweeden. She's a Swimsuit Model that has been featured in FHM and Maxim. She is also a correspondent on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period".



Along with them was Kristy Swanson. She was the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". She's also known for roles in "Big Daddy" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".



This celebrity really threw me for a loop. I had a brief conversation with him in the hallway of the hospital on my way to the USO and had no clue of who he was until I read the back of his shirt which depicted a "shrimpin' boat" on the back. This is Mykelti Williamson, aka "Bubba" from Forrest Gump. He also had roles in "Lucky Number Slevin" and "August Rush".


I hurried and took one final picture with three of the celebrities together. I've already mentioned Mykelti Williamson. Also in this picture with me is Kevin Farley. Yes, he is the brother of Chris Farley. He's been featured in movies like "Black Sheep", "Joe Dirt", and "The Waterboy".

Probably the biggest celebrity of the evening was Gary Sinise. He played "Lieutenant Dan" in Forrest Gump and is currently starring in "CSI: New York". When I first walked up to him I said, "My mother has the biggest crush on you and she would be very disappointed if I didn't get my picture with you." He gave me a nervous laugh and said,"Well, then I must oblige." After we snapped the picture and I was walking off he yelled to me, "Hey! Say 'hi' to your mom for me!" I guess letting him know about my mom's crush on him left a bit of an impression...

Anyway, it was a wonderful day. Every single one of those celebrities were very accomidating and friendly. It really makes you feel good about what you do when they take the time to come and shake our hands and offer their support.