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Carlos Mencia to deliver humor to U.S. troops

  • Published
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga --  Carlos Mencia , the man behind Comedy Central's popular "Mind of Mencia" television program, will entertain American troops in Southwest Asia and families in Europe Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 as part of this year's Tour for the Troops, formerly known as Operation Season's Greetings.

Joining the popular comedian will be headliner Kid Rock, singer/songwriter Jessie James and members of the Band of the Air Force Reserve.
Tour for the Troops will feature performances at Ramstein Air Base, Germany; Incirlik AB, Turkey; RAF Lakenheath, England; and a number of deployed locations in Southwest Asia.

This will be the third time Mr. Mencia has traveled overseas to entertain U.S. service members and their families. He was featured on a USO tour of the Persian Gulf in 2007 and performed alongside Jessica Simpson and the Pussycat Dolls during 2008's Operation Myspace tour for troops in the Middle East.

"After shows, I meet with servicemembers and there's always some kind of cool sentiment from them to me," Mr. Mencia said. "I find it a little embarrassing. People are out here making the ultimate sacrifice and they're looking at me like, 'Thank you for what you're doing' and I just think, 'Hey, I tell jokes. What you do is on another level.'"

"Carlos Mencia is a great addition to the 2009 Operation Season's Greetings line-up," said Chief Master Sgt. Jay Willis, manager of the Band of the Air Force Reserve and the tour manager/producer. "Not only will he do his stand-up routine, but he will serve as master of ceremonies for part of the show."

Headlining this year's tour is Kid Rock, one of the hottest artists on today's music scene. As popular with country music fans as he is with hip-hop followers, Kid Rock has a sound unlike any other performer in the world today. His 2007 album "Rock and Roll Jesus" went triple platinum in the United States and sold more than 5 million copies around the world. It produced the hit single "All Summer Long," a worldwide smash hit that charted No. 1 in eight different countries across Europe and in Australia.

Ms. James, the daughter of an Air Force fighter pilot and a self-described military brat, will be making her first Tour for the Troops appearance. She is quickly making a name for herself on both the pop and country music scenes with hit songs like "Guilty," "My Cowboy" and "Blue Jeans."
Performing as the opening act for the tour will be the Reserve band playing well-known pop and contemporary favorites.

AIR FORCE RESERVE WEB SITE:
www.AFReserve.com

Carlos Mencia WEB SITE:
www.carlosmencia.com

Kid Rock WEB SITE:
www.kidrock.com

Jessie James WEB SITE:
www.thisisjessiejames.com

Be sure to check out the Air Force Reserve on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.