# Does the US military still put entertainers to use? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682 "2011-01-31T19:44:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/21 "2011-02-01T18:33:27Z")
Not sure [Pat Tilman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman) counts. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/22 "2011-02-01T20:27:42Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > There is one category of entertainers who do use their skills as their regular assignments in the military - the members of military bands. Indeed, members of the U.S. Marine Band aren’t even required to go through boot camp: [http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/career\_information/learn\_more/recruit\_training.htm](http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/career_information/learn_more/recruit_training.htm) ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/23 "2011-02-02T19:10:54Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I know what the USO is. I’m not talking about that. > > I’m talking about what happened to Ronald Reagan: > > or Pete Seeger: > > I know I’ve seen other examples of this, I just can’t think of the specific people at the moment. One thing that most people don’t know about Ronald Reagan was that he had very poor eyesight. Most people with such poor vision would have always been wearing thick and cumbersome glasses at the time because contact lenses were too thick and rigid to be worn comfortably for extended periods, and were usually only used for theatrical purposes. As an actor, however, Reagan would have needed to wear contacts anyway when appearing in public to preserve his image, therefore not many people were aware of his condition. His poor eyesight disqualified him from most of the duties that soldiers were commonly assigned to at the time. My understanding is that the military gave him an assignment that matched his interests (film) because he had a lot to offer in that regard, but was was basically useless in any other capacity not because of any policy the military had for entertainers in general. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/24 "2016-12-17T20:10:35Z")
[USAF Band at Union Station](https://youtu.be/khQN5ylb3H0), channelling the Greatest Generation. As far as I can tell, the dancers are professional civilians. It would be terrific if they were soldiers in uniform, even just having fun without the polish and training, but perhaps the public isn’t ready for that. What are the patches on the female solo singer? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/25 "2016-12-17T22:56:37Z")
On her left sleeve is the US Army Air Forces emblem, the patch on her right sleeve appears to be a patch for U.S. Army Europe, and the rank insignia on both sleeves is for a Technician Third Grade (WWII Army rank equivalent to a Staff Sergeant, but not an NCO) ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/26 "2016-12-17T23:58:20Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > One thing that most people don’t know about Ronald Reagan was that he had very poor eyesight. Most people with such poor vision would have always been wearing thick and cumbersome glasses at the time because contact lenses were too thick and rigid to be worn comfortably for extended periods, and were usually only used for theatrical purposes. As an actor, however, Reagan would have needed to wear contacts anyway when appearing in public to preserve his image, therefore not many people were aware of his condition. > > His poor eyesight disqualified him from most of the duties that soldiers were commonly assigned to at the time. My understanding is that the military gave him an assignment that matched his interests (film) because he had a lot to offer in that regard, but was was basically useless in any other capacity not because of any policy the military had for entertainers in general. Reagan also had some hearing problems dating from his film career in the 1930s when a gun was fired too close to his ear. > **[Hearing Loss and US Presidents](https://www.audicus.com/hearing-loss-and-us-presidents/)** > > President of the United States is said to be the most stressful job in the world. That responsibility often brings many health issues, including hearing loss. Not sure of the exact figures but a lot of American males were rejected from military service in World War II for health reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/27 "2016-12-18T00:04:17Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > On her left sleeve is the US Army Air Forces emblem, the patch on her right sleeve appears to be a patch for U.S. Army Europe, and the rank insignia on both sleeves is for a Technician Third Grade (WWII Army rank equivalent to a Staff Sergeant, but not an NCO) Wait…sorry I’m so gullible, but the uniforms were WWII-ish, and the ranks, etc., on who now? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/28 "2016-12-18T03:06:32Z")
Australia and the UK had similar system to the USA, except that the organisation were directly government sponsered: in Aus “Forces Advisory Committee on Entertainment”, in the UK “Entertainments National Service Association”. In the USA, the United Service Organisations which started the USO were the mostly religious-affiliated community organisations which had provided services to the troops in WWI: YMCA, YWCA, Salvation Army etc, “united” into the USO for WWII. Entertainers (like Normy Rowe) who were drafted just got normal grunt jobs. “It ain’t half hot Mum” (English Sit-Com) refers to the other way troops were entertained: grunts with some talent got extra duties. Spike Milligan did some of that in WWII: They formed “concert parties” (Like a B&W minstral show, without the B&W ) ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/29 "2016-12-18T19:06:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Wait…sorry I’m so gullible, but the uniforms were WWII-ish, and the ranks, etc., on who now? You mentioned a solo singer, so I skipped through the video until I found a solo singer, I assumed you were talking about the airman at [around the five minute mark](https://youtu.be/khQN5ylb3H0?t=5m3s). Yeah, the uniforms look to be WWII US Army uniforms, though I don’t know the uniforms of the time well enough to say how accurate these are. For obvious reasons, any Air Force folks going for a WWII style are going to be in Army uniforms since all airmen at the time were in the US Army Air Forces until they broke off to form the US Air Force in 1947. The Air Force gradually adopted their own distinct uniforms and ranks over the next few decades. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/30 "2016-12-19T19:51:35Z")
Famously, [Pat Tillman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman) was an All-Pro safety for the Arizona Cardinals who joined the US Army and was killed in Afghanistan in 2002. Prior to this, [Bob Kalsu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kalsu), a guard for the Buffalo Bills named as that team’s Rookie of the Year was killed in the Vietnam War. Not all celebrities who enter war get cushy assignments; some give their lives. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/31 "2016-12-19T22:27:07Z")
The OP’s talking about where the military took civilian entertainment industry people (not usually entertainers per se) and put them to work doing what amounted to military versions of what they did in civilian life. For example, Donn Beach of the “Don the Beachcomber” tiki restaurants of the 1960s and 1970s spent WWII as a Major operating R&R centers for USAAF flyers. ISTR that several famous visual artists of several kinds worked on camouflage and deception efforts during WWII. But… to answer the OP’s question, no they don’t. There’s no real need to at the moment- most of those examples were for things that were only really necessary during the sort of huge-scale war that WWII represented. Today, if USAF flyers need R&R, they just fly them to somewhere peaceful in the world on leave, instead of running R&R centers on the French Riviera. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/32 "2016-12-19T23:20:28Z")
That said, many bases do have MWR (Morale Welfare Recreation) facilities. Campgrounds, gymnasiums, golf courses, athletic fields, marinas, etc. I’m sure troops on their way out or back from the front might make use of these facilities if they find themselves spending enough time hanging around on the way. At the very least, the Air Force provides enough time off after deployments for troops to use such facilities if they wanted to (though lots of folks in that situation just take leave and go visit family) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/33 "2016-12-20T01:41:13Z")
Just a little anecdote, I worked for the Navy’s MWR for a short time, working at a movie theater on at Bangor Naval Base. My first government job, I made minimum wage. I also worked briefly at a kids’ after-school program at that MWR job (which was a lot more fun). They supported both single sailors and Marines, and their families. I myself grew up a sailor’s kid and made use of those places when I lived on one base or another. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/34 "2016-12-20T02:29:28Z")
In 2000, I went to a convention (which was sort of halfway between an academic conference and a fantasy con) that was held in the Kilauea Military Camp in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the big island of Hawaii. This is an MWR facility, but they occasionally rent the place out for conventions. It was an interesting contrast to the places that this convention has otherwise been held, which is at hotels and on college campuses. It’s just a MWR facility. There’s nothing else military around it: [http://kilaueamilitarycamp.com/](http://kilaueamilitarycamp.com/) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682/35 "2016-12-20T02:43:35Z")
Ali was offered a easy job giving exhibition boxing matches in the military. Much like the deal Joe Lewis got. Ali was drafted, still refused to serve, and was prosecuted. John Holmes wanted to enlist. He was denied because he kept tripping when he marched. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-military-still-put-entertainers-to-use/569682.md?page=1)