Our cross country vehicle.
Fitch jamming to Reggae on the bus. The beer was not mine!
After checking into Spangdahlem Air Base early, we traveled to nearby Trier, one of the oldest cities in Germany. There were a lot of old Roman ruins to explore.
If you look to the left in the picture, you can see Fitch wandering around like the kung-fu guy, searching for answers.
Fitch and I doing a radio interview...intensely!
Hanging out at the USO Warrior Center
One of our 4 scheduled signings. This one was at Ramstein Air Base.
Talking to a class of Airmen about physical fitness, diet and nutrition.
This servicemen gave me the patch off his uniform that he wore the whole time he was in Iraq. He said it was good luck and he wanted to pass it on to me. It meant a lot and will be framed on my office wall along with the military coins I received from this trip.
Teaching a seminar with Jon Fitch and Dan Hardy at Spangdahlem Air Base. All of these guys were very familiar with MMA and they even had a base combatives program. I am starting to see these forming at a lot of military bases now. Its good to see!
I don't know what I was doing here. I guess I was showing how to throw a hand grenade from your back.
Seargant Major O'Neal escorted us through the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to visit the wounded servicemen. Their stories were touching and heroic, though they all kept a humble demeanor. I gave them all T-Shirts and Caps from my new clothing line. It was only a small token considering what these guys give every day, but they were very gracious.
The next day we surprised the wounded servicemen by showing up at the airfield to escort them onto the C-17 airplane, which will transfer them back to the States for further treatment.
This is one bad dude right here! He suffered from an explosion and had shrapnel all in his legs. Before we took this photo he was strapped down to a gurney about to be transported onto the plane. When he saw us he made the nurse unstrap him so he could stand up and take a picture. Must have been really painful, absolutely incredible!Seeing the guys who were wearing the T-shirt I gave them the previous day was touching. The small things say it all. I will blog more about this experience in my next blog...
Sitting in the cockpit of the C-17 before takeoff. Its a little more intricate than the 1979 Cessna 172 Skyhawk I use to fly in flight school. Quite a bit heavier as well!The Rest Of The Photos Will Be Posted In The Photo Galleries On MikeSwick.com In The Next Day Or So....
So Check There For More!
