Comedians crack up Camp Bondsteel

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Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ivelisse Ortiz, Puerto Rico National Guard, Gurabo, Puerto Rico, deputy personnel officer, Multinational Battle Group East, gets autographs from the Ineligible Bachelors, Dez Reed, Tommy Savitt, Myles Morrison and York Underwood.

Tommy Savitt, a Brooklyn, N.Y., attorney turned comedian, and his pants entertain a group of Soldiers deployed to Kosovo Sunday Nov. 7. Savitt has devoted the past decade to providing comedy to deployed members of the armed forces.

Tommy Savitt, founder of the Ineligible Bachelors Comedy show asks an audience of deployed Soldiers Ã¢ÂWho wants me now???Ã¢Â as part of his stand up routine. Tommy Savitt and three other comedians are bringing this show to six different bases in Europe to bring Soldiers a taste of home. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Sarah A. Cummings, 130th Public Affairs Detachment, Connecticut National Guard)

York Underwood, the youngest of the comedians who visited Camp Bondsteel Sunday Nov. 7, uses exaggerated facial expressions to get a joke across to the audience comprised mostly of Soldiers. Underwood and his fellow comedians use their show to boost morale in service members and remind them of what they are fighting for. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Sarah A. Cummings, 130th Public Affairs Detachment, Connecticut National Guard)

Myles Morrison, 27-year-old comedian, laughed along with the audience as he talked about the massive amounts of waffles he had for breakfast at the Soldier run waffle house at Camp Bondsteel Sunday Nov. 7. Morrison light heartedly giggled as he commented on the different things he experienced at Camp Bondsteel that day.

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November 12, 2010
Pfc. Sarah A. Cummings, 130th Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – Soldiers at Camp Bondsteel clutched their stomachs and laughed as Tommy Savitt and the rest of the “Ineligible Bachelors” performed their comedy routines, Nov. 7.

Savitt, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is a former attorney and the founder of the Ineligible Bachelors comedy troupe. He has dedicated the past decade of his life to entertaining the troops overseas.

Performing for the troops is one of the most rewarding things he does, said Savitt.

“You need it. You need it. You definitely need it. It’s healthy. You need to laugh. You need a reprieve. You need a break,” Savitt said, talking about members of the Armed Forces.

The “Ineligible Bachelors” consists of four comedians, Savitt and three Canadian comedians. Although most of the show is about male-female relationships and consists of men’s locker room talk, one of the comedians, Dez Reed, did talk about his time in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Reed opened the show talking about his experiences in basic training and the training he received.

“Everything back home is taken for granted,” said Reed. “This tour means a lot to us. We are bringing a little bit of America to our troops. It’s a reminder to them of what they are fighting for.”

The “Ineligible Bachelors” have been bringing laughs to Soldiers throughout Europe on a tour with Armed Forces Entertainment, the official Department of Defense agency for providing entertainment to U.S. military personnel overseas.

“It’s like a rite of passage,” said York Underwood, 24, the youngest of the comedians. “All the greats have done it, perform for the troops. But more than that it gives us a chance to give back to the troops,” said Underwood. “Most people can’t do what you guys (Soldiers) do.”

“My best friend is in the Canadian Armed Forces. He emails me all the time while he is gone. You can tell he gets lonely, and who wouldn’t,” said Myles Morrison, another of the “Ineligible Bachelors”. “I guess it’s our way of saying thanks for all that you Soldiers do and sacrifice.”

While visiting Camp Bondsteel, the comedians were able to see a little bit of how Soldiers live while deployed to Kosovo, eating with Soldiers at the Task Force Aviation waffle house and touring the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

“We must have had two pounds of waffles each,” said Morrison. “They were the best waffles I have ever had.”

After their breakfast, the comedians visited with the veterinarian and then went to the kennels where the Military Working Dog unit trains. They were given the opportunity to put on the bite suit and have the dogs take them down.

Soldiers sat back and relaxed as they were entertained by the group of comedians. It was something different to do that brought a little bit of home to them.

“Laughter is the best medicine,” said Savitt.

That is what the “Ineligible Bachelors” brought to Camp Bondsteel, a medicine that could lift up the spirits of the Soldiers.