It's not every day that anyone gets to meet, sing with and even line dance beside a famous musician on an aircraft carrier, but sailors on the USS George H.W. Bush recently had that honor when country music hitmaker Blanco Brown joined them.
Brown, whose real name is Bennie Amey III, hopped aboard the ship in late March as part of his USO tour. He held a concert for the sailors in the ship's hangar bay, performing some of his hits, including his 2019 debut single, "The Get Up." Sailors got to join him in doing the song's viral line dance. (You can see soldiers performing it in the video below as well).
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While on board, Brown got a tour of the inner workings of the ship, hosted a meet-and-greet with sailors and even got to be a special guest judge for the ship's talent show. The George H.W. Bush is the first ship to have a floating USO Center on it, and Brown was the first celebrity to get to use it.
"The USO tour was amazing — far beyond anything I've ever imagined," Brown, a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and producer, said. "I had a lot of fun, and the experiences will live with me and through me for the rest of my life. I would love to get back out there and support the troops as much as I can."
"The crew had a blast during the concert, and the time [Brown] spent with individual crew members during the stay paid huge dividends in crew morale," said Capt. Dave Pollard, commanding officer of the George H.W. Bush. "Special events like this one make a significant impact on lives. We thank Blanco and the USO for coming out to be a part of our story."
Afterward, Brown visited other service members and their families stationed at Naval Station Rota in Spain. There, he hosted a troop appreciation picnic lunch before performing another concert for service members and other members of the community.
The visit was part of Blanco's final leg of his first global tour with the USO. It was part of the USO's ongoing efforts to boost the morale of U.S. troops and their families stationed around the world. In 2022, the USO held 27 tours and 34 military virtual programming sessions for more than 40,000 people across 30 countries and 427 military sites, including in Australia, Colombia and Greenland.