Day 5
Hi Broncos Country, reporting back to you from Tikrit, Iraq. Well, we were supposed to be on a C-130 to Baghdad, but due to a sandstorm we were grounded in Speicher for another day. We had no problem finding something to fill our time. Our military tour guide, Carmen, set up a Special Forces tour for us where we were able to explore the MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) and even hang out on the gun range. We were all brave enough to shoot M-9 pistols and a few of us even shot automatic M-4s. After taking several pictures and signing autographs with the Special Forces Unit we made a surprise visit to the soldiers at the car wash and by car wash we mean tank wash! They were so excited to see us.
We were really lucky to be staying at “Freedom Rest” which is where soldiers go to stay for R&R. We joined them for a pizza party that evening. Afterwards, we had time to watch movies, catch up on emails and phone calls back home, swim at the pool, and even play a little ping-pong.
Day 6
The sandstorm cleared up and we made our way to Baghdad on another C-130 plane. We were all in shock to be in Baghdad…a place you only hear of and see in movies. We even had our own anthem “Broncos over Baghdad”. We instantly fell in love with our MWR guide, Julia, who was continuously briefing us on the history of Baghdad and Saddam Hussein. We were staying at the Victory Base Compound, which is where Saddam himself entertained thousands of people during his time in power. He also used the land as a hunting reserve, where he brought in his own animals from around the world to hunt. The property on the base is filled with extravagant buildings and man-made lakes. Saddam believed anything that happened on a body of water was not seen by the god, Allah. We went on a tour of The Al Faw Palace, which is the headquarters for the US military in Iraq. The commanding 4-Star Army General resides here.
Next, it was Blackhawk time! It was our first Blackhawk ride and the first time in a helicopter for most of us. It was an unbelievable experience! We were able to look out over all of Baghdad and even saw some wild camels running in the desert. We flew to FOB Hammer (a Forward Operating Base); it was the smallest base we had visited thus far. There were 150 soldiers on base and 900 civilians. As we drove to the recreation center for our performance we came to an immediate stop as soon as we saw the “Denver Broncos Road” street sign! It was the perfect photo opportunity. Although the center at Hammer was our smallest facility, the crowd was our best yet! We were told that Hammer had never seen so many people attend a show in 7 years. Some highlights from the show included a serenaded performance by 2 soldiers singing Usher and a push-up routine performed by Allyson on a pool table due to the lack of space on the stage. We took a night time Blackhawk ride back to Victory Base and enjoyed seeing all of Baghdad at night…it was absolutely beautiful!
Day 7
We were taken on a tour of Camp Slayer at Victory Base. We were told that we would probably be the last American group that was going to ever tour Camp Slayer.
A few fun facts we learned on our tour:
We learned so much history and were so appreciative to have our tour guide, Julia, who was a plethora of information!
After our tour it was time to leave Baghdad. We left Baghdad on another C-130 plane to go to COB (Contingency Operating Base) Delta. We were only on base for a couple minutes before jumping on another Blackhawk to go to FOB Eastern Barracks. Eastern Barracks is a JSS (Joint Security Station) which means that it was both an American and Iraqi military base. There were only 80 soldiers on base and they were thrilled to see us! We were scheduled to go to another FOB, but due to ANOTHER sandstorm we were stranded at the Eastern Barracks DFAC (cafeteria). We were really disappointed that we did not get to meet the soldiers at FOB Gary Owen and Kalzoo. Although we were stranded at Eastern Barracks, we couldn’t have been in better company. Since the base was so small we were fortunate to meet almost every soldier on base and a special few hilarious ones who entertained us with their comedy. They didn’t seem to mind that we were stranded at their base!
The sandstorm finally cleared up and we were able to take off on the Blackhawks back to COB Delta. Mid-flight the sandstorm picked back up and we had to make an emergency landing in Talil, Iraq at Camp Adder. We were a little disappointed because we were scheduled to have a show back at COB Delta. We found out that there were 800 soldiers waiting for us to show up and perform.
Since we were stranded without any personal amenities we made a quick stop to the PX on base in order to purchase toothbrushes, face wash, and our Men’s Hanes shirts. Our military guide was impressed with what troopers we were!
Day 8
We were up bright and early in order to catch our plane back to Delta, but once again, the weather was not cooperating. This trip has certainly taught us to “go with the flow” and we have tried to make the most of every situation. We slept in the airport for a few hours hoping to catch a plane, but since the weather wasn’t improving we took our time to eat lunch with the troops. The day continued to get even more interesting as our entertainment tour guide accidentally lost her passport after throwing it in one of the trash bins at lunch.
After hours of stressing over the lost passport and sitting in the airport at Adder base we were finally able to fly and we made it back to COB Delta. When we landed in Delta we were notified that the passport was found by an incredible group of soldiers that dug through the dumpsters to find it. Our servicemen truly will do anything for us!
Tonight was our final show and we had time to get ready and head off to the stage. We were all very emotional that it was our last show and we were determined to make it the best! The stage was absolutely perfect; it was outdoors, bleacher seating, and palm trees surrounding the back drop. There was even a fire truck parked near the stage so the fire fighters could enjoy the show as well. We were all having bittersweet emotions prior to the show knowing that it was our last show of the trip and we may never have the opportunity to come back to Iraq again. As always before any performance, we had our group prayer and we each said our memory of the trip and what we were grateful for. With heartfelt tears of joy and energy running high we took the stage for our final show.
Not only was there a diehard bronco fan in attendance with a broncos tattoo but the soldiers even started the wave in the bleachers…we felt right at home! By the end of the show we had the soldiers on their feet singing and clapping along to songs like, “Shook Me All Night Long” and “Magic Carpet Ride”. At the end of the show we were presented with certificates of appreciation from one of the Commanding Officers and once again WE were the ones that felt appreciative to all of our service men and women.
Day 9
Our last official breakfast with the troops and we all made the most of it. It has become one of our favorite parts of the tour, having the privilege to eat with the soldiers and hearing their stories. After breakfast we went on a tour of the Medevac (Medical Evacuation) unit. The Medevac is the team who attends to POIs (Point of Injury). Their crew welcomed us with open arms and let us tour and sit in the newest Blackhawks the military has issued to the Medevac teams.
We had time to kill before our flight so we drove around base and even did a little souvenir shopping. After killing some time we packed our bags for what we planned to be a 45 minute flight back to Kuwait. Instead of the short trip to Kuwait we took a detour up to the northeastern corner of Iraq, near the border of Turkey. Here we picked up several congressmen from California, Texas, and St. Louis. They were in Iraq for a conference with other Americans and the Prime Minister of Iraq. From there we took the 2 hour flight headed back down south down to Kuwait.
We were excited to be back in Kuwait and see our “family” (security staff) that we had grown to love when we first arrived in Kuwait at the beginning of our tour. We were also welcomed by the Chief from Adder who personally flew to Kuwait to hand deliver the found passport to our entertainment tour guide. We all couldn’t believe it!
We had a full day in Kuwait to regroup, reflect, and repack our bags before heading back home to the states. Again, we had such a bittersweet feeling knowing that we were going home, but feeling like we still wanted to stay to support our troops. After hearing comments on the tour like, “Thank you for bringing a little piece of home out to us”, “You girls are a reminder of why we are out here fighting”, “This was the best part of my deployment”, “I’m now a Broncos Fan!”, makes us want to stay longer to reach out to more soldiers. We were blessed to meet so many service men and women including many soldiers from Colorado that we cannot wait to reunite with and acknowledge at our Broncos game for the Military Salute.
The trip came and went so fast and we know the experiences we had and memories we made will be cherished forever. We all have a new sense of American pride! As we continue to pray for our troops, let us all be grateful and remember the sacrifices they are making for us to live in the land of freedom – Broncos Country!
Sincerely from the Middle East,
Allyson, Heather, Jessica, Kelly, Kim, Lindy
Tags: Denver Broncos Cheerleaders, Iraq
My own Wikipedia, haha.
Well, this oldtimer has a few differences of opinions, but isn’t that what this blog is all about? BS and put in your two cents worth.
#1 Flloyd Little. Why Little over Elway? Simple. Flloyd was the first 1st rounder the Broncos drafted and actually signed. They didn’t sign the previous 4, two of which were Merlin Olsen and Dick Butkus. If the Broncos hadn’t signed Flloyd and he was truly “The Franchise”, the Broncos would have either moved or folded. No Flloyd, no Elway Bronco records.
#2 Elway. Nuff said.
#3 Randy Gradishar. Better ILB than his LB competitors that are in the HOF.
#4 Terrell Davis. He’s what got the Broncos two BS wins.
#5 Shannon Sharpe. Redefined the TE position.
#6 Louis Wright. If he’d player for few SB winners he’d have been a 1st ballot HOFer.
#7 Keith Bishop. Who?? We oldtimers know all about Keith. Another HOF caliber Bronco who’ll never get his due because of how lousy a team he player on.
#8 Rod Smith. Showed that desire and an exceptional work ethic can overcome lack of exceptional talent.
#9 Rich “Tombstone” Jackson. The only player who ever so dominated the opposition that the NFL twice made rule changes to lessen his dominance.
#10 Tom Nalen. A real shame that he retired less than 20 points short of 2000.
I take it at #10 you meant Jason Elam.
Bishop played from 80 through 89, so he went to 3 SBs, not that bad a team… but I get what you mean.
Whoa whoa whoa, hold the phone! I just heard on NFL Network that there is speculation that Pat Bowlen is considering trading ownership with Stan Cronkie (sp?) of the Rams. That came from left field. What the heck!? Has anyone else heard this? Hopefully this is just a crazy rumor.
My top 10
1. Elway
2. Sharpe
3. Atwater
4. Little
5. TD
6. Mecklenburg
7. Rod Smith
8. Jackson
9. Dennis Smith
10. Zimmerman
I leave some of the “older” guys off because I just don’t know enough about them. If I were creating something official, I’d do my research.
3G I have to wonder if it sparked from our blog a couple days back?
I said here two weeks ago when answering a question from mikey that I thought Bowlen would eventually sell rather than letting his children inherit and deal with it and that Kroenke would be the most likely buyer.
That would be just too wierd if this is indeed what happens, or somebody just caught on to my hypothesis and is running away with it spreading a rumor, LOL.
Haha, mikey is here to back me up on that, LOL.
What you guys need to keep in mind is Bowlen and Kroenke already have an ownership history together when they both owned the Crush arena football team with Elway.
With the amount of money Kroenke is worth, over 2 billions, it would be financially easily feasible assuming he can sell the Rams because no one can own two franchises by NFL rules.
Who wants to buy the Rams? McD with all the money he made here, LMAO!
Also remember the Rams are one of the team in discussion for moving to LA so that could open the door for a sale right there!
All of this is very interesting, please keep us posted if anything else pops up.
Well, they are already having a full discussion about it on Broncos Country for what it’s worth, hard to decipher anything in there that really makes sense though:
http://forums.denverbroncos.com/showthread.php?t=188487
Something of significance I came across I did not know:
Kroenke AND Bowlen are on the NFL’s Los Angeles Stadium group, the group who wants to bring in a team to LA.
Anyhow these rumors about Bowlen selling the team started back in February of last year and have been on and off ever since, so there very well could be some truth to it.
I certainly won’t discard that notion anymore.
I wonder if the organization is going to have an article up this week telling the fans these rumors are false once again, last time it’s Joe Ellis who did so.
And we pick Sunday night for this topic, and no one is on Sunday nights, hahaha.
Oooops, it’s only Saturday night! Same thing though, LOL.
I will reply with why would Bowlen trade his baby that he has tendered to for another fanchise with his healt the way it is. I am hoping this is just a rumor because the Broncos with out Bowlen is like cereal with out milk lol, but seriously I would like a die hard bronco fan to become our next owner.
The Broncos have been incredibly fortunate when it comes to owners. The two owners they’ve had have both done everything within their power to make the Bronco organization one to be admired not only for the number of games won, but the way everybody in the organization became a part of the community. The number of former Broncos who’ve stayed in Colorado after they’ve retrired is certainly something to be proud of. Who Bowlen will hand the reigns over to is anybody’s guess, but one thing that is certain is that it will be somebodsy who cares as much about Colorado as he and the Phipps bothers did.
Yes , I meant Jason Elam. Trying to put Tom Nalen and Jason Elam in as a combined player I guess.
45YEARBRONCOFANSTILLONSTRIKE!!!!
Good time as any for a little Bronco owners history:
1959-1961 Bob Howsam
1961-1981 Gerald Phipps
1981-1984 Edgar Kaiser jr.
1984-Present Pat Bowlen
Funny, for oldsouth being on strike he is about the only one left on here… Good to see though, you know who the hardcores are, on strike or not.
Great quote from Floyd Little:
“There are three kinds of people, people who make something happen, people who watch something happen and people who wonder what happened.”
That pretty much sums it up!
Something else I wasn’t aware off:
The Rams and Colts traded ownership in 1972.
And the Rams may be at it again? What are the odds…
aware of
I’m on strike against the players and owners but not all you fellow bloggers. Love everyones comments whether I agree with someone or not. It keeps my interest up even though I’m not going to spend one penny on anything ever remotely related to the NFL this season. Can’t wait for season to start.
45YEARBRONCOIFANSTILLONSTRIKE!!!!
It is great to see our cheerleaders out doing sometihng constructive for us and the team, even if the players are not. Way to go ladies! Keep cheering the troops on!
I love to see that Miller has been seeking help from a previous Dallas Cowboys LB coach to better understand his role in the 4-3. I really believe that he will be the defensive rookie of the year!! I am hoping that he gets his first sack on opening day against the Faiders!!
I was reading that defenses tend to be more effective when the have 2 or more quality pass rushers so here is to hope that we got them in Doom and Miller.
QB’s, guys who protect the blind side of the QBs (usually LTs) and guys who rush the QBs (usually DEs), are the three best paid positions on average in the NFL (QBs 2 millions on average, DL players 1.6 mil and OL 1.5 mil).
LBs and secondary are at 1.2 mil on average.
On the other end of the spectrum it may surprise many to know that the NFL salary scale indicates that the league feels it is easy to find quality running backs and wide receivers at a reasonable price, as those positions are No. 7 and 8 on the list at an average salary of just over $1 million per season. Even more surprising, the tight end position falls very close to the kickers and punters as those earning the lowest compensation.
Of course all that is average pay, some WRs and CBs earn ungodly amounts of money as we well know, but those averages show the most important positions in the NFL:
QBs, protecting the QBs, and harrassing the QBs.
It all makes only too much sense, it all starts with the QB, how long you can protect him and how quick you can get to him.
And interestingly enough that’s exactly how the majority of the teams go about their drafting, start with QBs, DLs and OLs and work their way down to address the rest of the positions, but of course we went with Von and it’s mostly because Elway sees him as disruptive for the opposing QBs as any top DE, so here is to hoping he’s got it right, I believe he may very well be, looking forward to see Miller in action.
BTW, those figures are from the 2009-2010 season.
My top 10
1. John Elway
2. Floyd Little
3. Randy Gradishar
4. Lious Wright
5. TD
6. Dennis Smith
7. Shannon Sharpe
8. Meck
9. Steve Atwater
10. Rich Tombstone Jackson
10 1/2. Elam
HaHa!! I cheated, so what!
The unsung hero that has been forgotten that I cannot ignore is Simon Fletcher. He could easily be in the top 10 from what he did on D year in and year out during the Elway years.
Fletcher, good call, thought about him too, and Mecklenburg, and Tom Jackson, but I just had ten choices so some worthy guys were left out. I like Andre Townsend too, and Romo and the three amigos plus Willhite and Moses, Rubin Carter and Steve Foley, and Steve Watson and Rulon Jones and Mark Haynes and Schlereth, Nalen, McCaffrey, Howard Griffith, Keith Traylor, Alfred Williams, Atwater and many more but unfortunately I had no room to fit any of those guys into my top ten.
One player I had alot of hopes for but didn`t play long was Steve Sewell. I really liked his play but broke his Fibula I believe it was and lasted just a few years. Sewell could have been special but got a injury that cost him his career.
And Gerald Wilhite I really liked.
Then there`s Champ and TE Clarence Kay. But Kay had a short career too. He was one big dude.
Then there was the wild man Lyle Alzado. He always looked possessed when he was on the field, kind of like Romo was.
Riley Odoms, Alzado and Trevor Pryce, endless high quality players we’ve had, very few now though, haha.
Now it’s Bailey, Doom and Clady and no one else, every one else is based on expectations, like Tebow, Miller and other draftees. And Lloyd could get in there if he follows last season with some of the same.
When BFE comes on he’ll have Wilson in his top ten! Another worthy candidate.
And Neil Smith who helped us out big time getting our SB wins.
All quality cantidates. A new chapter in the play from what your saying. Time will tell. No promises, not even Tim Tebow as much as I like him and believe in him. THEY ALL MUST PROVE THEMSELVES WORTH OF GREATNESS!!!!
Niel Smith, heck ya! Welcome to the Good Side. HaHa! Classic!
ooops, NEIL SMITH. Gotta learn how to spell. At least I know how to spell ELWAY!!!!!
We can`t forget Haven Moses.
And the incredible KR/PR Rick Upchurch. The Devin Hester of the mid 70`s but better I think, very dangerous with the ball in his hands.
We should test a theory to see if what we say can actually start a rumor that makes it to NFL Network. Any good ideas? It has to sound like it COULD be true.
How about the Denver Broncos are looking to trade 3-4 OLB Elvis Dumervil for 4-3 DE Mario Williams. Sound plausible?
1.Elway
2.TD
3.Floyd Little
4.Randy Gradishar
5.Al Wilson(great leader)
6.Steve Atwater
7.Dennis Smith
8.Karl Mecklenberg
9.Gary Zimmerman
10.Simon Fletcher