US Military Brings Yoga, Comedy to Afghanistan

The Department of Defense announced that “Soul-dier Boot Camp” was brought to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, as part of Armed Forces Entertainment:

Soul-dier Boot Camp is a yoga-inspired, high-intensity, interval cardio class designed to get participants to a high cardiovascular level and then bring them down with a calming, athletic, yoga course.

In the evening, the team entertained with comedy: 

Debbie Praver, Lang Parker, Suzy Nece and Chris Valenti teamed together to offer a two-in-one comedy and fitness package at the camp’s Town Hall. They hosted fitness classes during the day and performed comedy shows at night.

Yoga has been a point of controversy for the US military in the past, but the group was brought in as entertainers and were voluntarily received.  (Still, the US military bringing eastern-religious practices into Afghanistan makes you wonder where the cries of “emboldening our enemies” are.)   Recalling a recent incident at RAF Lakenheath, however, the female comedians may have strayed into gender-based humor that is becoming cringe-worthy within the US military:

The comedians kept the audience laughing with jokes about the mistakes parents make when raising children, tough girls attempting to be feminine and the humor in crashed relationships.

In the end, fitness was had, morale was reportedly raised, and the show moved on.

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