Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders Visit Troops in Iraq and Kuwait
Six Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders left last week for Iraq and Kuwait on a 12-day tour to visit U.S. troops. Janelle Stangl, of Bethlehem Township, Pa., a Freedom High School graduate, is among them.
This is the second year members of the cheering squad have traveled to the Middle East to visit U.S. servicemen and women, a news release says. They will perform variety shows and host meet-and-greets and autograph sessions. The cheerleaders also will fly in military helicopters and sleep in the barracks to experience first-hand some of the troops’ conditions.
In addition to Stangl, who is in her second year on the squad, the women on the trip are Amanda Bedford, Krystle Campbell, Tiffany Monroe, Alexandra Stephan and Priscilla Williams.
Previous goodwill tours have brought Eagles cheerleaders to Bosnia and Kosovo and they make regular appearances at military bases and veterans hospitals, a news release says. See a photo gallery here.
The cheerleaders wrote this blog post about their trip:
Hey Eagles Fans!
Greetings from Kuwait! IT’S HOT!!! We started our day with a morning rehearsal and then proceeded to the DFAC (dining facility) for lunch. At first, we were a little intimidated by all of the soldiers, but after a while they made us feel incredibly welcome. We even met a few Philly fans in there! Even with all of the Eagles fans we still hear “Go Dallas” and “Go Steelers”… even in Kuwait!
Throughout our experiences here, we are learning a lot of military protocol. We didn’t know that soldiers aren’t allowed to just come over and sit with us until invited, so we asked a few of them over to our table. During our conversations we heard their stories and pretty much told jokes the entire time. It was nice being able to joke around and just be able to take them away from their daily routine.
After lunch we met with the Colonel, who is also the Chief of Staff at our base. There we were informed of the Muslim culture, background of Kuwait, and the military bases. Our meeting with him was an eye-opening experience and extremely informative. We had no idea the United States has such a positive rapport with Kuwait. It is comforting to know that Kuwait encourages the US Military’s presence. Later on, the Colonel gave each of us individual Certificates of Appreciation and coined us “Honorary Soldiers” for volunteering our time to boost the morale of the servicemen and women of Kuwait. What better way to begin our tour?
We were scheduled for a performance at Camp Virginia, but due to a sandstorm it was canceled. That was a little disappointing but we held an extra autograph session for the soldiers. During that time it gave us an opportunity to learn more about the soldiers on a personal level. Camp Virginia is a transition base for those soldiers who are arriving and leaving. Most of the soldiers have families back home so it was nice to hear that they will finally be reunited.
After we were finished at Camp Virginia, our security detail took us on a tour of Camp Arifjan. He showed us the living quarters of the soldiers and recreation facilities. We met with a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army and we were able to get the female perspective. We heard her story of how she enlisted in the Military and wouldn’t change a single day.
Overall, it was an incredible first day. In the short time we’ve been here, it’s hard to grasp the fact that as much as we are here to thank these soldiers for everything they and their families are sacrificing for us, all they do is thank us for volunteering our time. It seems to be a two-way street, in other words, it’s a mutual appreciation.
Tomorrow we begin our journey to Iraq!
Amanda “Cop”, Krystle “Teach”, Priscilla “SS”, Tiffany “Jersey”, Janelle “Tippy Toes”, and Alex “Joker” (All nicknames given to us by our security team)
