When you think NFL Cheerleader you don’t always think about the time they spend giving back to the community.
Most NFL Cheerleaders have a certain number of appearances they fulfill each year. One of the appearances that cheerleaders enjoy participating in are the military tours. The tours give the young ladies an ability to give back by bringing the service men and women a sense of home and entertainment.
Abby cheered for the Washington Redskins for seven years and during her time with the Redskins went on eleven tours and one as a staff member. Each tour lasts about two weeks and usually has 8-10 girls/mascots in the group. The tour group can be cheerleaders all from the same team or it can be a combination of girls from different teams. A normal day on tour consists of early mornings full of meet and greets, time in the dining facility (DFAC) to eat with the troops, visits to the bases, hospitals, flight lines, infantry, and ending the day with a big show on the base at night. The shows usually last 90 minutes and are jam packed with entertainment. Some days they even do two shows for the troops. The tours are fast paced the entire time the team is there because they only have so much time to try and reach as many individuals as possible!
After Abby’s first military tour with the Redskins, she knew this was something she wanted to continue doing. Abby says, “I think it’s important because the position we are in, is such a unique position. A lot of organizations that support the troops don’t have the opportunity to travel to the combat zones, but being with the NFL, we have been given the avenue to travel and be with these service men and women. It’s a way for us to give back to them. The troops are sacrificing every single day and for us to take a couple days out of our lives to say thank you and that we support you means the world to them”.
As most people know, the military uses a lot of acronyms; they basically have their own complete language and culture. After Abby’s first tour, she decided she wanted to be more educated in ‘their lingo’. She went home and studied the ranks, the acronyms and specific verbiages, so she would be more knowledgeable on her next tour. Each tour she went on, she asked the troops more and more questions about their lives and experiences, to learn as much as possible.
Abby recalls how sometimes it was the smallest gestures that touched the most individuals. She says, “there was one touching experience in Afghanistan when the cheerleaders were getting ready to do a show. They were in a make-shift dressing room, with no door, so the back was somewhat opened. The girls were applying makeup, hair spray, perfumes, and such, when a soldier walked by the door and stopped dead in his tracks. The soldier didn’t even look at the girls; he just stopped and took in all the scents. He then said, thank you girls it’s been over a year since I have smelled anything like that.” To the girls this was such an unreal experience. To think how much we take for granted, and how these little intimate moments can make everything worthwhile and life changing.
Another moment that sticks out to her was when she was in Iraq and Afghanistan. Looking out at the landscape she noticed how everything was beige and everyone was wearing the same color. The cheerleaders wore a hot pink uniform with pink poms poms for their show for a simple pop of color to remind the troops of home. The men and women expressed to the girls how refreshing it was to have them there visiting and that sometimes all they want is a hug or an ear to listen. Abby recollects looking at the tears in the troops eyes, and realizing at that moment the sincere gratitude they had for the cheerleaders being there and thinking “I am almost embarrassed because I don’t feel like I should be receiving the gratitude, that’s what I am supposed showing them. For the troops to turn the tables was very humbling”.
The tour which impacted Abby the most was when they visited the combat zone. It is very dangerous, so the tour group is unable to leave the Forward Operating Base (FOB). While the tour group is there to completely support the troops and entertain them and bring them a sense of home, the troops also take the time to show them around the site. In Afghanistan and Iraq, Abby and her teammates were able to shoot different weapons at the firing range. They were able to climb inside a tank, and while inside they got to shoot weaponry. The girls were also able to ride in black hawk helicopters, stay in Saddam Hussein’s palace, and were able to sit on his throne. They got the opportunity to shoot a .50 caliber machine gun from inside the black hawk helicopter while flying over the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan.
When they were in Kuwait the navy guys took them out on their boats to go snorkeling off the coast of Africa. And while in Guam, Abby was able to learn how to use the EOB robot (the bomb robot – Explosive Ordnance Disposal). There were definitely many opportunities that the girls were able to experience that they probably never would have had they not been able to travel overseas to be with the troops.
Abby hopes that being an alumnus of the Washington Redskins will afford her more opportunities to continue her participation in the military tours. She has traveled as a staff member for one tour and would like to continue in that capacity if possible. To top off Abby’s last tour as a cheerleader she met her boyfriend on the flight line, an Air Force Pilot and couldn’t be happier. Abby would like to say “thank you to all of our men and women in the armed forces who sacrifice every day for our freedom. I thank you for your service and God Bless the USA.”
