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Comedians Stop at Camp Speicher

When soldiers walk around with pistols attached to lanyards, they see a practical piece of equipment.

For others though it is a comedic opportunity.

"Is that a phone cord attached to your pistol? I mean, are you outside the wire in a firefight saying 'Wait a minute, I lost signal," asks stand-up comedian Dave Mishevitz.

Mishevitz was one of five comedians to entertain 101st Airborne Division troops on the Comics on Duty World Tour. Included in the tour were Chris Alpine, James P. Connolly, Tom Foss, Reno Collier and Mishevitz.

"Comedians use the freedom of speech more than anyone else, so the people who defend that - we are willing to come out and entertain them anytime," said Foss.

Foss has been an XM radio and Bob and Tom Show regular. He is also said to have the highest "Laughs Per Minute" rate in the business.

Comedians ate dinner with soldiers and then gave a two-hour show complete with lots of stress-relieving laughs for the troops.

"I have buddies that are over here right now...and I have a military family," said Collier about why he came to Iraq. "I think we get more out of this than the people who come to our shows. We never get to do anything that is giving back to the community."

Collier is a frequent of Comedy Central as well as the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.

The comedians signed autographs and posed for pictures with the soldiers.

This group of comedians has come to the Middle East before in support of the troops. Alpine has been to Iraq five timessince the war began Alpine boasts an impressive resume with appearances on HBO, MTV and Comedy Central. Connolly has been on HBO, Comedy Central, VH1 and has regular airplay on XM radio.

Connolly is a retired Marine and served a deployment during his career. Mishevitz, a contributing writer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, has also been to Afghanistan.

The comedians also toured different places in Iraq and got to see hospitals and schools in country.

"It's nice to have a different viewpoint than the sound byte you have on CNN every night," explained Mishevitz. "They are doing a lot of rebuilding too. To come out here and see it first hand is incredible."

Source: U.S. Department of Defense