**This article appeared after my first trip to the Middle East to entertain the military.  If you're having an event for a military or veterans group and would like to contact me about performing at your event, click here.***

ARTICLE FROM SIOUX CITY JOURNAL OCTOBER 4, 2003

Comedian did duty in Mideast
By Jesse Claeys, Journal staff writer

Comedian Stephen Thomas's last performance tour was no laughing matter.

That was because Thomas was with five other American comedians on a tour entertaining U.S. troops stationed in parts of Afghanistan and a few other Middle Eastern countries.

"It was the most rewarding thing I have ever done," said the 33-year-old Thomas, who is in town to perform at the Argosy Casino. "I have always supported our military, but this was a chance to do it in a more direct way."

Thomas left the friendly confines of his home in Chicago on Sept. 5 to find himself 60 hours later sitting at Ganci Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. The three-week tour of an area very much in a state of war had begun.

Thomas said he had sent a tape to the organizer of Comics on Duty, a sort of USO type group that travels to entertain troops. After what Thomas said was a period he bugged the group almost daily, he was accepted to go on a tour of the Mideast.

"That was where they needed a good show the most," explained Thomas of why he pursued joining the tour. "These are men and women who literally give me my freedom with their blood. They are dying out there so I can stand on stage at the Argosy and tell poop jokes."

It was in Afghanistan where Thomas said the reality of war was everywhere. Thomas said rusting blown-up tanks could be seen in roadside ditches, their schedule was frequently altered due to intelligence reports of possible ambushes and explosions could be heard at nearby U.S. camps.

One evening, Thomas said a simple middle-of-the-night bathroom stop proved to be a little more than he bargained for.

"I got dressed and was walking the about 100 yards from our tent to the bathrooms. I heard an explosion, but really didn't think much of it until I saw two soldiers dive into a bunker. I thought they probably know more about this than me, so I dove in that hole too," Thomas said.

The explosion he had heard was a rocket that was fired into the neighboring British camp.

"I know this seems weird, but you get used to it. The soldiers look at it as part of the job. They work their 10-hour shifts and then spend their off hours playing ping-pong, exercising or whatever."

Exercising is a little different in Afghanistan, Thomas said, because soldiers have orders to have their machine guns on them at all times.

"You would see a guy jogging with an M-16 strapped to his back."

During the tour, Thomas said he made it a point to ask soldiers what morale was like and about the media reports he had seen in the states.

"They are not accurate. You see a story about how all of the people over there hate Americans and the soldiers hate the president. That is not true. One soldier told me that 99 percent of the locals are happy the U.S. is involved, but the problem is that the one percent who aren't happy have bombs strapped to their backs," said the man who has been a professional comedian for the past 7 years.

Morale was high among the troops, he found. He said nothing raised their spirits more than getting mail from home. Thomas said troops cheered when mail planes would approach the bases.

"They long for anything from home," said Thomas, adding the group's performances were heavily attended and appreciated. "We would stay and sign autographs for hours after a show. They were so starved for anything American that they would flock to a show featuring five unknown comics from the U.S."

The group returned to U.S. soil about two weeks ago. Overall, it was something that Thomas plans on doing again, possibly even in a few months.

"People don't have the respect for the military that they used to. This is just something I can do to say thanks," he said.