RAMADI, Iraq – Chely Wright made a few double entendres, and the crowd roared. She dropped an occasional four-letter word, and they yelled. She told the crowd they were the best of the tour, and they cheered.

It could’ve been a concert just about anywhere in the United States. But it so clearly wasn’t – the crowd was mostly soldiers and Marines wearing camouflage. It started and ended early enough for the fans to be in bed early enough for PT the next day. Guys smoking hookahs in the crowd. No beer. (Well, no real beer.)

But Wright, a country singer from Kansas City, Mo., drew a crowd of hundreds on an otherwise quiet night on Camp Ramadi. A group of South Asians, most of whom work at the chow hall, stood on a picnic table behind the rows of folding chairs and cheered loudly during her songs. Wright’s guitar player elicited laughs when he volunteered to have his shaggy hair shaved into a mohawk.

And after the show, Wright posed for photos with each service member and thanked them for their service.

“We don’t get people like this too often at Ramadi,” said Master Sgt. CathyJo Wings of the 81st Brigade Combat Team as she lined up for an autograph. “And she put on a great show. It’s nice to know people back home remember us and will come out to play for us.”

(Photo by Sgt. Amanda Gauthier/81st Brigade Combat Team)

I was reading this story and found a quote interesting (emphasis mine):

"This is already one of the longest wars in American history. There's nothing new in Iraq," said Steven Roberts, a professor of media studies at The George Washington University. "We've read the stories of instability in the government a hundred times. Every single possible story has been told, and so there is enormous fatigue about Iraq."

That might be true for people who only care to read about instability in the government. But I can attest from plenty of e-mail and conversations that people want to read about what their hometown soldiers are doing. Because while some might forget we're fighting a war in Iraq, it's a daily reality for thousands of soldiers and their loved ones. I could spend a year in Iraq and still not tell all the stories that deserve to be told.