KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq -- Cartoonists Jeff Bacon (left) and Mike Peters draw pictures for Airmen and Soldiers deployed here Oct. 20. The visit was part of a USO tour that traveled to more than a dozen locations to raise morale for servicemembers. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski)
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq - Cartoonists draw pictures for Airmen and Soldiers deployed here Oct. 20. The visit was part of a USO tour that traveled to more than a dozen locations to raise morale for servicemembers. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski)
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq - Jeff Bacon, a cartoonist with Military Times newspapers, drew this picture for Senior Airman Steven Gottula, a security forces Airman deployed here from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. Ten cartoonists partnered with the USO to visit servicemembers at more than a dozen locations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski)
by Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
AFCENT Combat Camera Team
10/22/2009 - KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq -- Ten cartoonists leapt off of the funny pages and into the frontlines during a USO tour throughout the region this week.
The United Service Organizations sponsored visits to more than a dozen installations so cartoonists could visit deployed servicemembers.
The tour was the brainchild of several members of the National Cartoonists Society who had regularly visited military hospitals, but wanted to do something more.
"This trip was four years in the making," said Jeff Bacon, who draws the comic strips "Broadside" and "Greenside" for Military Times newspapers. "We worked with the USO to make this happen and they've been fantastic in supporting us. It's all about doing what we can for the troops."
Staff Sgt. Michael Flynn always wanted to get a caricature done, but never found the time at amusement parks, he said.
"This has been a great morale booster for us, so I know everyone here appreciates them coming out here to see us," said Sergeant Flynn, deployed from Dover Air Force Base, Del.
Bruce Higdon, freelance artist and himself a 25-year Army veteran, drew Sergeant Flynn's picture.
"I love it," Sergeant Flynn said. "This is definitely getting framed and going on the wall when I get home."
The USO Entertainment Division has a long history of visiting troops overseas, said the tour producer, Tracy Thede.
"Tours like this are just one of several ways the USO takes care of troops and their families," she said.
For Rick Kirkman, the artist behind "Baby Blues," the trip had more of a personal feeling.
"My dad retired after 20 years in the Air Force, so I know what service life is like," Mr. Kirkman said. "My dad spent time in Vietnam, and I have a new appreciation for he went through. So if we can visit with the men and women out here and draw funny pictures for them and it gives them a little lift, well, that's just a small thing we can do to give back for all they do for us."
