That's great and all but, couldn't he have visited them after his honeymoon?

Apparently the marital troubles started early.

Damn, he already hates his wife. That was quick.

Why the hell would the troops want to meet these people? I guess the singer and the comedian can sing and comede, so there's at least the chance of entertainment there. But what does one get out of a visit from Craig Stammen?

Kellie Pickler... heh.... first came to my attention for her stunning ignorance of baseball when interviewed on WGN after singing the 7th inning stretch. Seems to have found a niche with her image as the adorable dumb blonde.

What I hear regularly from my ex-military students and friends is that the gesture does indeed matter. The expression of gratitude and sacrifice and effort and support that goes into making a visit matters. And c'mon.... if I had a chance to, say, play catch with an MLB pitcher, even one I'd never heard of before, or get an up-close exhibition of a random MLB hitter taking BP, I'd find that pretty damn cool. Especially if it was my only scheduled down-time amidst patrols in Afghanistan.

If they were married on Dec. 1st, they've had 10-12 days in Hawaii, and one would assume they were initially planning a three-week honeymoon before the tour materialized (awhile back) and then cut their plans to two weeks.

Though it's lots more fun to imagine them getting to Hawaii, hopping into bed, the phone ringing, and the guy reversing course halfway through undressing to catch the next flight out …

I wonder if they would throw batting practice to some soldiers? that would be a pretty fantastic opportunity.

first came to my attention for her stunning ignorance of baseball

Not usually one of the first two things that come to people's attention about Kellie Pickler.

I wonder if they would throw batting practice to some soldiers? that would be a pretty fantastic opportunity.

OK, that would indeed be cool. Do they do that?

The left-hander will join teammate Craig Stammen, Washington Capitals forward Matt Hendricks, singer Kellie Pickler and comedian Iliza Shlesinger for the tour.

Who are these people?
Ross Detwiler is the only one that I know by name, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't identify his face in a lineup.

Not usually one of the first two things that come to people's attention about Kellie Pickler.

I looked her up on Wikipedia when I read your comment. Nothing special.
Then I did a Google image search for her name and understood what you were talking about in a couple of photos.

I'm glad they are taking their time out of their schedules to do this for the troops, and I'm sure the troops like having ANY distraction over there, but this is the D-list celebrity tour for sure.

Why the hell would the troops want to meet these people?

It's time spent not burning piles of #### or defusing landmines or going on another godforsaken patrol?

What I hear regularly from my ex-military students and friends is that the gesture does indeed matter. The expression of gratitude and sacrifice and effort and support that goes into making a visit matters.

So regular people are more appreciative than the average BBTF persona? That's reassuring.

So he gave up a week of honeymoon sex with his young, attractive wife in order to hang out with a bunch of buff men in uniform?

Nothing wrong with that, I guess, if that's what you're into... I just hope he told her before the wedding.

Not usually one of the first two things that come to people's attention about Kellie Pickler.

She shaved her head out of solidarity with a friend who has cancer. That's kind of a nice gesture, particularly for a lady.

So he gave up a week of honeymoon sex with his young, attractive wife in order to hang out with a bunch of buff men in uniform?

Didn't RTFA, but earlier reports in the Washington media indicated that the honeymoon was cut short by one day. Wife was fully supportive, too.

Pickler?! I don't even know her!

Then I did a Google image search for her name and understood what you were talking about in a couple of photos.

The best part is that she was not similarly endowed in her original run on American Idol. She came back a season or two later to do a guest singing performance and Simon Cowell called her out on the implants. Hilarity and discomfort ensued.