Houston Texans Cheerleaders bring it on at Club Iwakuni

Sasha | Jun 13, 2010

By Lance Cpl. Marcel C. Brown
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
Marines.mil
6/11/2010

Marines and sailors gathered to see the Houston Texans Cheerleaders perform an enthusiastic cheer routine at the Club Iwakuni ballroom here June 5.

“The performance was upbeat and encouraging,” said Lance Cpl. Rosbel Alvarado, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 ground support equipment maintenance.

“I had a lot of fun.” Prior to the Club Iwakuni performance, the cheerleaders held a cheer and dance class at the IronWorks Gym where children of all ages were given the opportunity to practice cheer routines.

“I think it lifted up the morale greatly,” said Alvarado. “Everyone seemed very involved. We should have more events like these.”

The cheerleaders arrived in Okinawa, Japan, June 2 where they held the tour’s first performance at Camp Hansen. After their performance at Hansen, the cheerleaders have been traveling base to base, visiting troops stationed in Okinawa.

With countless hours of traveling and little rest time between performances, the cheerleaders often have to overcome fatigue and jet-lag while maintaining enthusiastic and energetic personas during their performances.

“Because of the jet-lag it’s difficult to keep up energy, but we all encourage each other and try to keep the morale going,” said Lindsay Slott, Houston Texans cheerleader.

“They’re amazing. This is my second tour with them,” said Sandy Charboneau, tour manager. “Having this opportunity to come out here with the girls, they’ve done a great job, especially being on such a tight schedule.”

The crowd showed a large amount of appreciation to the cheerleaders after the performance, but the Houston Texans cheerleaders expressed a larger appreciation for being able to give back to the troops stationed overseas.

“The military audience appreciates us much more than the civilian audience,” said Slott. “They don’t have many experiences like this, so they definitely appreciate it more. They’re very thankful.”

“We appreciate how welcoming everyone is,” said Charboneau. “It feels like we’re here to say thank you, and when we hear it from them it really makes you feel like a good person.”

Charboneau said the cheerleaders travel a lot through Armed Forces Entertainment, bringing some Texas spirit to the troops stationed overseas.

The cheerleaders have recently been to Honduras, Iraq and Japan and are scheduled to visit Singapore and Diego Garcia.

“We love visiting people who are missing a little bit of home and bringing a little piece of Texas to them,” said Charboneau.

Although the cheerleaders were only able to stay for a short period of time, Slott said she enjoyed her time here and knows they will be back again.

“I want to thank everyone who brought us out here,” said Venessa Martinez, Houston Texans cheerleader. “For our short time being here, I hope everyone enjoyed our stay,” she added.

[Photo 1 XXL]