The War and Treaty<\/a> ventured into Italy for the duo\u2019s second USO tour, a stop in Naples on Oct.\u00a025 led to an unexpected bonus.<\/p>\n\n\tThe U.S. Navy band for the Mediterranean region happened to be in town on an off-day, and the ensemble worked up a short set to back Michael and Tanya Trotter on one of four dates during the trek. Michael is a veteran, having served in Iraq roughly 20 years ago, and the visit became something more than a typical concert.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt ended with Michael sitting down and having a heart-to-heart with these sailors about his journey and about his story, and about how music can really save you,\u201d USO global entertainment production director Sarah Moll recalls. \u201cIf you\u2019re having a moment, you know, \u2018Go inward, go to music.\u2019 [He told] how he really did that when he was serving. I was looking around, and there were tears, there were nodding heads, there were smiles. I think they just felt so heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tNovember is National Veterans and Military Families Month, and few activities provide greater connection for troops and their relatives overseas than a USO visit. Because of his military history, Michael understands better than most how simply that occurs when an artist visits a base.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNobody\u2019s asking questions about home,\u201d he says. \u201cNo one\u2019s thinking about that. They\u2019re mission-driven. This is what makes our country\u2019s military the greatest fighting force ever seen in history. We know how to stay focused when we come into that hall to just be entertained. That\u2019s exactly what we want: \u2018Entertain us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe USO has been entertaining troops for more than 80 years. The organization was founded in February 1941 -\u2014 prior to the country\u2019s involvement in World War\u00a0II \u2014 tasked with bringing performers, athletes and other celebrities to the military.<\/p>\n
\n\tCountry music has been a big part of the USO\u2019s story. Country Hall of Fame member Gene Autry was among the first to join the cause, purportedly singing to more than 1\u00a0million troops and family members in the Pacific theater after he completed his own military service in 1945. Across the decades, Johnny Cash, Roy Acuff, Barbara Mandrell, Charley Pride and Randy Travis would participate. During this century, the list has included Darryl Worley, Chely Wright, Kellie Pickler, Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry and Toby Keith, who \u2014 as a 2010 Parade story noted \u2014 usually headed \u201cright to the front lines\u201d during annual tours overseas.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn the vast majority of cases, entertainers are shielded from the most dangerous outposts, though even when the visits are not in an active war zone, they can still have a significant emotional impact. The War and Treaty\u2019s first USO tour landed them at Camp Casey in South Korea, a scant 13\u00a0miles from the demilitarized zone at the border of North Korea. They were \u201cliterally in the danger zone,\u201d Michael recalls.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn between the music, he told the troops of his Iraq War memories \u2014 the soldiers who served at his side and those who were lost in combat. One of his former comrades happened to be at the base and was able to catch up with Michael. Just as importantly, Michael shared some of his past in a more vivid way with Tanya, who had seen aspects of his post-traumatic stress disorder. It resurfaced during that visit.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe was able to get through it \u2014 \u201cI had to take a breather because my mind was getting back into war mode,\u201d he says \u2014 and Tanya was better able to recognize some triggers for his condition.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt was more intensified than it is at home, but it\u2019s what we do deal with all the time,\u201d she says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go anywhere, the experience that he\u2019s had, but it heightens, depending on the environment. So it was just a heightened response to being in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMichael\u2019s visit to Camp Casey underscores the significance of the USO. Entertainers can spend a few days or a week embedded in military life. Even if it tests them, they get to leave the environment at the end of their mission, while the soldiers\u2019 tours of duty continue until their contracts run out. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe smallest things can make the biggest difference \u2014 Moll remembers Craig Morgan leaving the two guitars he brought on one tour with service members he met. And simple conversations in the mess hall can make a huge impression.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe coolest part,\u201d Moll says, \u201cis where we get to sit down and have a meal with them. I\u2019m like, \u2018Where are you from?\u2019 And they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m from New Jersey,\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019m from Virginia.\u2019 It just kind of gives everyone a starting point. We\u2019re sitting in the middle of Italy, but there\u2019s some way that we can connect.\u201d
Moll provides an ideal connection between the USO and the entertainment industry. <\/p>\n
\n\tDuring her time as NFL director of media events, she landed on the Billboard Power\u00a0100 after working with the likes of Bruno Mars, Beyonc\u00e8, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry at the Super Bowl. Her move to the USO has brought a different level of meaning to her work \u2014 \u201cI put my head down at night, and I\u2019m like, \u2018I did good today,\u2019\u201d she says \u2014 but it has had a similar impact on the artists who make time for the program.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere isn\u2019t probably one person that I have toured with that hasn\u2019t said, \u2018Call me anytime. Let me know what you want me to do. Where are we going next year?\u2019\u00a0\u201d she observes. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a legacy thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat\u2019s true for The War and Treaty, who want to take the baton from the hundreds of entertainers who have preceded them.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s very important,\u201d Michael says. \u201cI had some good people to follow in the past \u2014 of course, Bob Hope, but also just thinking of Whoopi Goldberg\u2019s contributions, and Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Toby Keith. I\u2019m very excited to try to pick up a mantle here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Aller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When The War and Treaty ventured into Italy for the duo\u2019s second USO tour, a stop in Naples on Oct.\u00a025 led to an unexpected bonus. The U.S. Navy band for the Mediterranean region happened to be in town on an off-day, and the ensemble worked up a short set to back Michael and Tanya Trotter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}