Apologies for the liberal use of, and credits to, Buckminster Fuller for
the book title.
.
“We want to make it more about talent than being risqué,” said Tanea
Brooks. “We are not going to boost every part of the morale.” Her
credits include a three-year stint as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, a
role in a country music video, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” by Trace
Adkins, and a turn as quarterback for the New York Euphoria, one of
the teams that established the Lingerie Football League, in which
models played football dressed in lingerie.
.
August 27, 2006
Lifting Troops’ Morale in Iraq With a Bit of Flesh
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/world/middleeast/27morale.html?
HADITHA DAM, Iraq — One by one, the marines took the stage for one of
the most coveted photo opportunities of the war. Tanea sat on one knee
of each eager marine while Laurie rested on the other.
Hands on their miniskirted hips, Amber and Renee posed at each side.
Dani stood behind and held the marine’s rifle as the camera snapped the
photo. Some of the young marines who lined up for the memento were so
mesmerized by the experience that they had to be reminded not to leave
their weapons behind.
The Haditha Dam is in a hostile stretch of the Euphrates River 140 miles
northwest of Baghdad where the marines do battle with insurgents in the
oppressive heat. But for a few hours this summer, the chow hall inside
the dam was transformed into a theater for five shapely dancers who
seemed to be the embodiment of many a young marine’s fantasy.
It was all part of a program to keep up morale in a war that is more
dangerous than ever. There is a long history of providing entertainment
for troops in war zones, including performances by attractive starlets.
Bob Hope toured with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Korea. Raquel
Welch and Ann-Margret performed in Vietnam.
But at Haditha Dam, the marines have the Purrfect Angelz, as the dancers
are known. Their tours, which organizers say are paid for by the
military, have occasionally stirred some controversy. During the group’s
2005 visit to Baghdad, a female Air Force officer complained that the
dancers’ wardrobes and routines encouraged insensitive attitudes toward
women in the military.
On the group’s third tour of Iraq, there were no complaints from the
boisterous crowd of male marines at the dam or the solitary soldier in
the audience from Azerbaijan, who mistook the Oklahoma-born Tanea for a
Russian. A small group of Iraqi Army officers who are being trained by
the marines were so enthusiastic they all but rushed the stage and
filled their digital cameras with this sampling of American culture.
Sgt. Dale Gooden, a 31-year-old Marine reservist from Jacksonville,
Fla., who is assigned to the dam security unit, saw the show as a sign
that the American public had not forgotten about the troops. The most
impressive part of the show, he said, was “just the fact that they came
out here to see us.”
Certainly, Haditha Dam seems an unlikely venue. The 10-story
hydroelectric dam, which was built in the 1980’s, was captured in the
opening weeks of the American-led invasion. The secret Delta Force
destroyed much of the Iraqi defenses near the dam, while Army Rangers
swooped in later to seize the structure.
The Americans said the dam had to be taken to prevent Saddam Hussein
from destroying it as part of a scorched-earth policy, though there is
no indication that Mr. Hussein ever had such a plan. It was firefight at
the dam, in fact, that initially put it at risk. After discovering that
the dam was poorly maintained and damaged in the fighting, a sergeant in
an Army civil affairs unit flew to the site and worked with the Iraqi
engineers to keep the dam functioning.
After a multimillion dollar project by the Army Corps of Engineers, the
dam’s turbines were rehabilitated. In addition to generating
electricity, the dam also serves as a headquarters for the Marine
battalion that is charged with securing the Haditha area and is home to
a small contingent of troops from Azerbaijan who are helping the marines
guard the structure.
For the Purrfect Angelz, it was a stop on a tour that also took them to
bases like Al Qaim and Taji. The dancers, former cheerleaders, calendar
models and aspiring actresses, have an active schedule in the United
States, much of which consists of events for motorcycle riders. By
design, the routines at Haditha are a bit tamer than the biker fare.
“We want to make it more about talent than being risqué,” said Tanea
Brooks. “We are not going to boost every part of the morale.” Her
credits include a three-year stint as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, a
role in a country music video, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” by Trace Adkins,
and a turn as quarterback for the New York Euphoria, one of the teams
that established the Lingerie Football League, in which models played
football dressed in lingerie.
But for marines who deploy for seven months at a stretch, are forbidden
to consume alcohol, have no real opportunities for social interaction
with the Iraqi population and routinely travel down roads seeded by
roadside bombs the performance was exciting enough.
“Servicemen are our best audience,” said Ms. Brooks, who gave her age as
“21 forever.” “They are so appreciative. We love touring for them. They
always get excited.”
[David Chavez, the president of Pro Sports MVP, which organized the
tour, said the expenses consisted of travel costs and small stipends for
the performers. A Pentagon spokesman said he had no immediate
information on what the tour cost or the financial arrangements.]
A recent show began with an entreaty by a diligent sergeant who saw the
event as an opportunity to appeal to the marines to re-enlist. He was
loudly shouted down. An announcer who was traveling with the dance group
told the marines not to pay attention to media reports that the American
public did not support the war. The nation, she said, was solidly behind
them.
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/world/middleeast/27morale.html?
