FEATURES
Improving Morale at the Frontline
by Helen Head from SSVC T
he CSE Forces Entertainment team has been back in Afghanistan delivering morale-boosting shows to
entertain British troops.
Comedians Rich Wilson and Steve Harris, music duo Front Cover, and three CSE dancers, performed five shows in nine days to troops based in Kandahar, Kabul – Camp Souter, Kabul International Airport, Camp Bastion and Camp Leatherneck.
Meanwhile, another CSE team were doing their bit at the sharp end of operations delivering a morale boost to Forward Operating Bases and Patrol Bases in Helmand Province at FOBs Shawquat, Attal, Price, Oulette and Rahim. Troops returned from patrol and saw a stripped back CSE show to keep the boys and girls smiling.
Comedian Barry Castagnola said: “Telling jokes to troops who’ve literally just come in from a fire fight and still have cam cream on is about as full-on as any gigs get. But they are so appreciative and the experiences I’ve had will stay with me forever. It’s a privilege.”
The performers were given a very warm welcome in every location and delivered shows to around 4,000 Servicemen and women during their tour. CSE Entertainment Manager Angie Avlianos said: “It’s great to deliver a little bit of morale and help people to forget where they are for a few hours and let off some steam. We were overwhelmed with the response we had from people. We can’t wait to go back and do it again!”
Feedback has been tremendous with a lot of comments on the CSE Facebook page:
“Fantastic show in BSN tonight. Great comedy, brilliant music and stunning dancers. Cheers guys.”
“Just wanted to say that I absolutely loved your show tonight. Thank you for all you do, I can’t express how much that helped cheer us up.”
CSE Forces Entertainment is the organisation dedicated to entertaining and boosting the morale of HM Armed Forces around the world. As the live entertainment arm of the Services’ charity SSVC (Services Sound & Vision Corporation) CSE delivers over 500 show days a year.
Angie Avlianos continued: “We stage shows in some pretty random locations from cookhouses at the forward operating bases in Afghanistan to 5* hotels in Cape Town. What always remains the same is our dedication to bringing the Forces a morale boost where it’s needed most.”
As the official provider of live entertainment to the Armed Forces, CSE routinely sends tours to Afghanistan, Cyprus, Oman, the Falkland Islands and to Royal Navy ships deployed worldwide.
Comedians, dancers, exciting rock bands and celebrities work tirelessly in sometimes difficult conditions to deliver top quality shows where they’re needed most. Alongside them there’s a dedicated team of technicians, tour managers and production staff who always go the extra
www.raf-ff.org.uk
mile (or two!) to make sure that the show goes on!
But as some of the headlines this year demonstrate not everyone is happy, especially those left at home. One newspaper headline read: ‘Government spends more than £400,000 on sending celebrities to visit soldiers in Afghanistan last year’.
Sadly these reports were inaccurate. The figure quoted did not relate to the celebrities visiting Afghanistan at all, but the six tours undertaken by CSE amounting to over 70 days in theatre, and all the production kit and crew required to deliver shows to the Main and Forward Operating Bases.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: “Entertainment of members of the Armed Forces is, and has for many years, been an important element of the deployment welfare package. It helps to maintain morale and thereby the combat-effectiveness of Service personnel. The MoD has a contract with CSE to provide entertainment to members of the Armed Forces deployed overseas, including Afghanistan. Those who visited were transported and accommodated alongside Armed Forces personnel at minimal extra cost to the public purse.”
The Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) is the Forces charity which brings BFBS Radio and TV; live shows from CSE Forces Entertainment; SSVC Forces Cinemas; the British Defence Film Library; and SSVC shops. For more information about SSVC go to:
www.ssvc.com
Envoy Spring 2012 11
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