Carrie Underwood, John Rich, Rodney Atkins and Jake Owen are among the stars who will play for free during the post’s Week of the Eagles. The homecoming event is held every other year for soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles” who have returned to base after overseas deployments. But this is the first time that the event’s music has stretched over two days, and the star power outstrips anything in its history.

“People just expect there to be a military, but they don’t see faces and they don’t know names,” Underwood said. “It’s very important to just go and raise awareness and bring some cheer to people who might not get it all the time, people who are stuck in another country, away from their family and friends and kids.”

Underwood — who in April became the first female performer since 2000 to win the Academy of Country Music Awards entertainer of the year prize — has played for troops before. In 2006, she went on a USO tour of Iraq and Kuwait.

“I’d never performed in front of a gun-toting audience before,” said Underwood, laughing. “People were very appreciative; people kept thanking us for being there. All I could say was, ‘I get to go home in a week; you don’t, so thank you.’”

Source: The Leaf Chronicle