Great job during Iraq tour!

[Andy H]

Maidens Fans,

I just wanted everybody to know what a great show the Maidens put on for U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq. Their show at COB Speicher, near Tikrit was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

The Maidens were real "troopers" who endured a long, uncomfortable airplane ride in a horribly hot C-130 cargo plane wearing armor vests and helmets. A friend of mine was on that flight said it was completely miserable, but he didn't hear a single complaint from the band. The soldiers complained more than the band did. Those are some tough girls!

After the show I had the opportunity to speak with both Linda and Sara. For a couple of "Rock Stars" they were some of the most polite and down-to-earth folks I've ever met. A couple days later I saw them once again. They were exhausted after days of gigging and helicopter flights in 100 + degree weather but they still found the time to speak to soldiers who approached them.

It may not seem like much, but the Maidens concerts were a welcome break from the hardships soldiers encounter every day. I called the officer at Corps who schedules bands (an old buddy of mine) and and described what a great show the Maidens put on. I truly appreciate your great work and loved hearing all my favorite tunes from my mis-spent youth!

Lieutenant Colonel Andy Harter

 

[Maiden Afganistan]

Welcome to the boards and kind words, Lt Col! Hope Speicher is treating you all well. I was in Tikrit, FOB Remagen for 17 months and know a little entertainment goes along way there. Lots of love and respect for the Maidens for doing that trip
Thank you for all you do there as well!

 

[Metallicat180]

Welcome to the boards!!

Great first post - definately much respect to the girls for doing that for the troops!

 

[A7]

Welcome to the boards, Andy.

 

[MiniMurray]

ty andy - back at ya. we were honored to spend the time together - any day is better when you share it with friends and a smile huh. we were so inspired with all the hard work you all do out there so 10 days was no sweat (not really ahhah i never sweated so much in my life!). that's so cool about the phone call - thank you! speedy and safe returns to you - we'll keep the metal warm 4ya

 

[debstress]

Maidens Fans,

I just wanted everybody to know what a great show the Maidens put on for U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq. Their show at COB Speicher, near Tikrit was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

The Maidens were real "troopers" who endured a long, uncomfortable airplane ride in a horribly hot C-130 cargo plane wearing armor vests and helmets. A friend of mine was on that flight said it was completely miserable, but he didn't hear a single complaint from the band. The soldiers complained more than the band did. Those are some tough girls!

After the show I had the opportunity to speak with both Linda and Sara. For a couple of "Rock Stars" they were some of the most polite and down-to-earth folks I've ever met. A couple days later I saw them once again. They were exhausted after days of gigging and helicopter flights in 100 + degree weather but they still found the time to speak to soldiers who approached them.

It may not seem like much, but the Maidens concerts were a welcome break from the hardships soldiers encounter every day. I called the officer at Corps who schedules bands (an old buddy of mine) and and described what a great show the Maidens put on. I truly appreciate your great work and loved hearing all my favorite tunes from my mis-spent youth!

Lieutenant Colonel Andy Harter

Hi Andy,

Yea, those C-130's were HOT, but probably got the best sleep of the trip on those dang things....they may be hot, but they lull you to sleep...I think I sweated buckets...can't think of a better way to lose some weight....ehehehehehehe

LOVED COB Speicher by the way....it was one of the best shows i have to say....and being in Iraq with you all made my life change in so many ways. My heart is there believe it or not and I really miss it....Everyone was so welcoming and happy....glad to see smiling faces. Please say hello to everyone for me and I am so glad you enjoyed the show.

God bless you and our country.....stay well and blessings...

Sincerely,

Deb
"Bruce Chickinson"

 

[Doodoobubbachuck]

Hi Andy! Welcome to our little spot on the www! Nice to have you here! I hope we can come back sometime soon to do it again, it definitely was an experience of a lifetime! It was a bonding experience for us all with everybody we met and with eachother, realizing all the little things in life that really don't matter and what is truly important. I applaud every single one of you serving over there and wish you speedy returns back home! Thank YOU for making our experience there so memorable! Stay well and stay safe! Those helicoptor flights ROCKED!!!

 

[Andy H]

Hi Andy! Welcome to our little spot on the www! Nice to have you here! I hope we can come back sometime soon to do it again, it definitely was an experience of a lifetime! It was a bonding experience for us all with everybody we met and with eachother, realizing all the little things in life that really don't matter and what is truly important. I applaud every single one of you serving over there and wish you speedy returns back home! Thank YOU for making our experience there so memorable! Stay well and stay safe! Those helicoptor flights ROCKED!!!

Well, I'm glad somebody enjoys helicopter rides, because I sure don't. Any time I ride in an aircraft that's painted dark green with the words "U.S. Army" or "U.S. Air Force" printed on the side, I start turning green. You guys would make much better pilots than I would.

Since you've been gone, we put together a group of soldiers who performed unplugged acoustic gigs. It lasted a couple months before the key guys were transfered home. We were attracting quite a crowd. As a drummer, I played percussion for them with some congas, a homemade shaker (plastic bottle filled with popcorn) and some homemade claves. We had a great time.

As a long-time bar band drummer, I was particularly impressed with your drumming as were some other drummers in the audience. Most of us are able to "fake it" through some of the less-complicated Maiden tunes, but none of us had the ability to nail the song perfectly every time like you did. If you were taking shortcuts, we weren't seeing them.

Again, it was nice meeting you guys and we're still talking about your visit.

 

[Andy H]

Hi Andy,

Yea, those C-130's were HOT, but probably got the best sleep of the trip on those dang things....they may be hot, but they lull you to sleep...I think I sweated buckets...can't think of a better way to lose some weight....ehehehehehehe

LOVED COB Speicher by the way....it was one of the best shows i have to say....and being in Iraq with you all made my life change in so many ways. My heart is there believe it or not and I really miss it....Everyone was so welcoming and happy....glad to see smiling faces. Please say hello to everyone for me and I am so glad you enjoyed the show.

God bless you and our country.....stay well and blessings...

Sincerely,

Deb
"Bruce Chickinson"

How anybody can sleep in a C-130 is a mystery to me. Sure wish I could. I went on leave in July and flew from Speicher to Kuwait. I made it to the tarmac in Kuwait, stepped off the plane and threw up all over the place. As the senior ranking guy on the plane I didn't actually hear any of the soldiers laughing at me, but I'm sure they did.

Most of us are accustomed to the heat. You guys actually had it more difficult because you didn't have the luxury of getting acclimated to the weather.

Again, super job. We were all impressed.

 

[Andy H]

ty andy - back at ya. we were honored to spend the time together - any day is better when you share it with friends and a smile huh. we were so inspired with all the hard work you all do out there so 10 days was no sweat (not really ahhah i never sweated so much in my life!). that's so cool about the phone call - thank you! speedy and safe returns to you - we'll keep the metal warm 4ya

There's no such thing as "no sweat" around here as you know. What was so impressive about you guys is how you endured all the same hardships as the soldiers without complaining. Not that we complain.....

Thanks again for the great show. Too bad the Army PA guy couldn't get our outdoor stage up and running. I really wanted you and Linda to try your hand at some 3-chord classic Rock tunes. On the bright side, I absolutely did NOT want Linda to see me play drums!

 

[Archmagician]

How anybody can sleep in a C-130 is a mystery to me. Sure wish I could. I went on leave in July and flew from Speicher to Kuwait. I made it to the tarmac in Kuwait, stepped off the plane and threw up all over the place. As the senior ranking guy on the plane I didn't actually hear any of the soldiers laughing at me, but I'm sure they did.

Most of us are accustomed to the heat. You guys actually had it more difficult because you didn't have the luxury of getting acclimated to the weather.

Again, super job. We were all impressed.

Sir,

Not only could I handle flying many many hours in a C-130 (I once flew from Ft. Bragg to Egypt in one - got out before the plane landed tho) I used to do it with a dip in my mouth!

Thanks for serving this great nation!

Airborne!

B co 2/508 82nd ABN 1983-1986

 

[METAL GOD]

Thats cool you ladies played a show in Iraq...I never get to see any good shows when I'm deployed, well I did get to see Robin Williams in Kandahar back in 2003....he was very funny... Anyway, last time in Iraq @ Camp Liberty my platoon had to drive around sector so they wouldn't mortar the Charlie Daniels concert back in 2006. Then I come back to the states and I see in the PX a Charlie Daniels Band 'Live in Iraq' cd. Oh well...at least we accomplished our mission that night....no mortar attacks...*lol*