SOUTHWEST ASIA -- An Air Force Central Command band teamed with the comedian Sinbad and delivered a double-dose of live entertainment to deployed members here on June 12.
“Maximum Impact” and Sinbad took the stage and for the final song of the night – together – during some down time for Airmen assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. The comedian also visited 386 AEW Airmen on June 11. He dispensed his brand of comedy to a standing-room only crowd huddled into the base theater.
“I think they heightened the morale a lot,” said Airman First Class Bridget Young, 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, who added that Sinbad’s prior military service meant he could find some common ground with the service members. “Coming out here and hearing somebody who relates to us … I think it’s a good idea for somebody like that to see where we come from. He mentioned a lot of things that a lot of people don’t always talk about -- the hard questions like, ‘How has it been away from your spouse?’”
Sinbad, an Air Force veteran, followed the band on stage June 12 where the former boom operator brought some candid discussion about life in the desert heat.
The band – deployed on a 90-day rotation – also performed at another Southwest Asia location and an embassy.
“We’re not rock stars, we’re Airmen,” said Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Carson, bandleader and lead vocalist. “We’re just like them. We just happen to do something different than they do. My job is to highlight their jobs and represent the excellence that they do 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
The hard work he saw while in the AOR caught Carson’s attention.
“Separate missions, but working for the same cause,” he said. “I like seeing the synergy among our people.”
Carson highlighted the band’s pursuit of its deployed mission.
“One of the AFCENT priorities is to build and develop relationships,” he said. “And that’s what we do. We’re developing and building those relationships with our coalition and joint forces.”
And as the audience crowded into the base MWR building, Carson developed rapport off stage with service members too – he sang within the crowd as he led the six-member band through a repertoire with live and contagious energy that many other music mediums can’t match.
“This definitely raised a lot of morale, especially for me,” said Airman 1st Class James Miller, also with the 332nd ECES. “The band brings a lot more energy to the music than the radio does. It’s a lot better than just sitting listening to music by yourself.”
And Sinbad’s routine – as he called on audience members to answer questions – brought belly laughs and fun for all who gathered. Sinbad sang with the band for its last song, to cheers and thunderous applause from the crowd.
Young added that Sinbad helped her anticipate how good it will be to go home soon. She’ll return to North Carolina when her deployment ends in July.
“This gives people something to look forward to when they go home,” she said. “It makes the time go by a little bit faster.”
Sinbad’s message to deployers?
”Enjoy it,” he said, during a sit-down meeting with a group of 332 AEW Airmen. “Once you’re here, you’re here.” He said Americans back home acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices of deployers. “At home, we think about you. They’re always thinking about you, man. Do your job, make the most of it.”
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https://www.facebook.com/386thAEW/photos