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Toby Keith electrifies Mosul troops

May-16-2005 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

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By MATT MISTEREK; The News Tribune

MOSUL, IRAQ – By the time Toby Keith finished a 25-minute acoustic set Sunday in Mosul, the crowd was so pumped up you might have thought he’d just played a two-hour show at the Tacoma Dome with two encores.

The soldiers of the Stryker Brigade weren’t watching the clock, however, and they weren’t shelling out the $45 to $60 they would have paid to see the country superstar’s unabridged honky-tonk act in Tacoma six months ago. [...]

“I’ve been trying to see him for six years. All it took is for me to go to Iraq and get shot at,” said Lt. Raub Nash, 25, of the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, known as “Deuce Four.” “In college, I was too poor to see him.” [...]

Capt. Brian Jovag grew up in Kirkland listening to Seattle grunge bands such as Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. It’s just been the past few years that Jovag, a physical therapist with the brigade’s support battalion, has learned to appreciate Keith.

“He speaks to the reality of being a soldier and being in the Army,” said Jovag, 34, of Tacoma. [...]

“Are you kidding me? It’s amazing,” said Lt. Col. Cheri Provancha, commander of the 25th Brigade Support Battalion. “Folks just don’t come up this far.”

Keith’s new CD hits record stores on Tuesday, the same day he’ll appear on the Academy of Country Music Awards via satellite during his USO tour.

The 4,000-some Stryker soldiers aren’t likely to return home to Fort Lewis until the fall, and Sgt. Bruce Gleason of the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry “Bobcats” said they need whatever inspiration they can find to keep their chins up.

“This will put some fire in the young men and women,” Gleason said, “make them strong for a few more months.”


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