Music For Troops CD

No matter what we might think of some celebrities and their opposition to everything about the military (even if they say they "support the troops", but still always manage to find fault in everything the troops do -- unless it involves deserting to Canada), there are still performers who give freely of their talents to American military personnel. Many do so through the USO, while others through the "America Supports You" program run by the DoD. They provide a lot of moral support to American servicepeople and veterans, along with some "good deals".

One such good deal that just became available is a free music CD that's being offered to everyone who's ever been in the military -- it's called "CD For The Troops":

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2007 - Just in time for the holidays, 13 major recording artists have created a musical “Thank You” for the troops.
“CD for the Troops” will be available for anyone with a valid military identification card to download at no cost from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Web site, http://www.aafes.com/, beginning tomorrow...
...Getting this project, which combined the music of Billy Joel, Brooks & Dunn, the Goo Goo Dolls, Jewel, Josh Groban, Los Lonely Boys, Melissa Ethridge, the Neville Brothers, Sarah McLachlan, the Lt. Dan Band, Montgomery Gentry, The Fray, and Five For Fighting, to troops’ ears took true teamwork. John Ondrasik, the singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name “Five For Fighting,” was intimately involved with making sure that happened...
...Ondrasik spearheaded the CD after being asked to write a forward and contribute a song to a compilation of local bands sending music to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I thought it was a wonderful gesture,” he said, explaining his belief that music is a unique medium that can affect morale and mental health. “I started making a few calls to friends of mine, and six months later we have the CD for the troops.”
A staunch supporter of the nation’s troops, Ondrasik said he is grateful for the sacrifices of American servicemembers. He said he knows men and women who made and are making those sacrifices have ensured his family’s liberty and enabled him to pursue music as a profession.
“Let’s be honest, there would be no songs of consequence without the soldiers who allow us a voice,” he said. “I can’t speak for anyone but myself, (but) I think it’s important to recognize that artists from across the political spectrum came together to make this gesture of appreciation and thanks to our troops.”
While Ondrasik hopes the downloadable version of “CD for the Troops” will be available on the AAFES Web site through April, tangible versions also will find their way to the troops. Troops in theater, military hospitals and Fisher Houses will get a share of 200,000 hard CDs, he said.
Of those CDS, 50,000 will go to two care package groups that are supporters of America Supports You. Utah-based Operation Give will get 40,000 for its Operation Christmas Stocking program, and Operation Shoebox will get 10,000 for its holiday packages.
No matter how the troops hear the music, Ondrasik said he hopes it “inspires, motivates, provides an avenue for reflection, or simply distracts you from a mission few can imagine, much less undertake,” he said.
“If anything, let each tune be a small piece of home to carry you forward,” he said to the troops. “Thank you for all you do, and feel free to shoot me an e-mail with requests for ‘CD for the Troops II.’”

I downloaded all 13 songs tonight; it was really easy. You just have to go to the AAFES website, click on the "Free Music Downloads" bar, and enter your SSN and birthdate as the username and password, respectively. They apparently have that data on file, because I was taken immediately to the web page where I downloaded all the songs in about 5 minutes. They're pretty good songs, too.

I've always been impressed with John Ondrasik; his performance of "Superman (It's Not Easy)" at the post-9/11 "Concert for New York City" was fantastic. I'm glad to see he backs up the emotion of his songs with action.

Bell-ringer 0800 22 Nov: If you can't find the link on the main AAFES page, you can apparently go straight to this link to sign in to get the songs.