JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
In 2008, rock singer David Cook emerged victorious on the hit TV show American Idol, which pitted him against competitors across the nation.
During his visit to JBSA-Lackland to perform a free concert Friday, Cook and his accompanying bandmates got a taste of an even more grueling challenge: running through the Battlefield Airmen site at the Medina Annex, covered head-to-toe in battle gear.
“Any time we as civilians get a chance to really see what these service members go through on a daily basis, that’s invaluable,” Cook said. “In this case, just putting on 50 pounds of armor and gear seems rough to us, but that’s part of their everyday routine.”
“After decking themselves out in various combat assortments – which included combat High Altitude Low Opening, or HALO, infill gear like oxygen bottles, parachutes, helmets and weapons — Cook and his band got to spend an hour surveying the challenging Medina Annex terrain and swapping stories with Airmen from the 350th Battlefield Airmen Training Squadron.”
The trip to JBSA-Lackland was a nice change of pace for Cook, who is currently in the middle of a national concert tour. Despite leaving Houston at that morning 4 a.m. and arriving at JBSA at 7 a.m., Cook and his crew were upbeat about the chance to perform for a military audience.
“We don’t get a chance to say thank you to the military as much as we would like,” Cook said. “So we were just hoping to come here and entertain everybody.”
During the trip to JBSA, Cook toured the Inter-American Air Forces Academy, Basic Military Training graduation, 737th Training Squadron, 37th Training Group, Military Working Dog Memorial and Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center before his evening concert at the JBSA-Lackland Outdoor Amphitheater.
The concert, a partnership between Air Force Entertainment and the 37th Training Wing, had a distinct JBSA flavor.
Four local acts, selected from a JBSA-wide talent show held Aug. 31, opened the concert. The performers, ranging in genre from rhythm and blues to country, had to beat out dozens of competitors during the talent show – just like in American Idol or the Voice - to make it onto the stage alongside Cook.
Kevin Harris; Joe Green, U.S. Postal Service worker; Capt. Robert Sorensen, 59th Medical Group dermatology resident; and the duo Andrew Bower and Tech. Sgt. Jamie Bennett, 319th Training Squadron military training instructor – the four talent show winners – each expressed gratitude for the chance to showcase their musical ability alongside a bona fide star like Cook.
“Wow – just wow,” Green said. “That’s all I can say.”
Harris was similarly excited.
“This has been such a fantastic opportunity,” he noted. “We all start somewhere, so getting to perform here is another step up on that ladder.”
Bower and Bennett, two country crooners, said they weren’t nervous to perform.
“People have been telling me since I started singing that my voice just fits well with this (country style),” Bennett said. “We’re honored to be here.”
For Sorensen, who writes his own music, the concert was a chance to share his hard work.
“Writing, playing guitar – it just relaxes me,” he explained. “Being up on stage is a bit different, but it’s still fun.”
Cook’s visit was more than a chance for Airmen to blow off some steam at a free concert said Capt. Meagan Capra, 37th Training Wing executive officer.
“We’re hoping that Cook takes a bit of his experience here on base and – as a celebrity – spreads some knowledge about what we do here to the outside world,” she explained.
As for the Airmen in the audience at Cook’s concert, Capra noted that the choice to include JBSA talent on-stage was more than a morale-booster.
“The talent show put Airmen and JBSA employees up on that stage, and in doing so, we meant to bring all of JBSA together,” she explained. “We’re demonstrating to Airmen that they are talented too, and they should be celebrated for that, just as much as we would for a celebrity.”