Barrington Musicians End 'Mind-Blowing' Goodwill Trip for Military

Musicians Pat McGee and Pat McAloon of Barrington could talk for hours and hours about their recent 10-day goodwill trip to entertain troops in the Middle East and on board the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the north Arabian Sea.

“I hope they got 10 percent of what I got out of the trip,” said McGee, who described their experiences as ranging from “incredible to mind-blowing.” 

McAloon said he would do it again “absolutely in a heartbeat. We connected with so many people that were so happy we were there for them. I took that away.”

One of the people who was especially glad to see them is Adam Carreiro of Barrington, who is serving in Bahrain as a member of the Army. 

During a concert in Bahrain, said McGee: “We asked people where they were from. He said he was from Rhode Island. I said where? He said Barrington.”

McGee said he plans to look up Carreiro’s mom and share over coffee what he saw at her son’s base. 

Indeed, the goodwill part of their “mission,” said McGee and McAloon, was as big as the shows – 5 concerts over the 10 days in Bahrain; Djibouti, Africa, and aboard the aircraft carrier. The trip was arranged by Navy Entertainment -- a military office that puts together visits overseas by musicians and performers for the troops. 

“They’ve had Peyton Manning throwing footballs to troops,” said McGee.

They left from Dulles Airport on April 16 and returned to Rhode Island on April 26 in a rental vehicle driven from Newark, NJ, where their final flight of a 30-hour day was canceled. 

“It wasn’t quite the welcome home we expected at T.F. Green Airport,” McGee said.

That is just one of the memories that tumble out of them as quick as a guitar riff. 

For instance, they are now “tailhookers” after being flown to the deck of the Eisenhower aboard a small cargo plane that went from 200 mph to a stop in about two seconds by a tailhook. Five-point harnesses strapped them into their seats. 

They got to stand on the deck of the carrier – one of the noisiest places on earth -- and watch planes take off and land within 20 feet of them. That’s an experience that many of the Navy crew members said they never get because they never get to the flight deck.

They visited a bomb-making room in the bowels of the aircraft carrier, where “mechanics” routinely assemble 2,000-pound bombs that sit in rows below decks.

In Bahrain, they became the first musicians to actually meet the kids of American soldiers stationed there. McGee said he spent some time teaching them a little music like he does at Primrose Hill School in an enrichment class. 

They performed an impromptu concert at a “special” Army installation in the desert that was little more than a few scattered buildings and Patriot missile launchers surrounding a surveillance tower.  They were prompted to continue a climb to the top to get a better look around by some choice words from an officer. 

They never felt heat like they did in Djibouti – “Africa heat,” said McAloon. “It would be 100 degrees at 10 in the morning and climb to 130 and 140 in the afternoon.”

There most moving memories, however, may be of the military men and women they played for and mingled with -- including a sing-along after a show that could have gone on until the wee hours of the morning until they were forced to retire because of an early-morning flight. 

“I think we sang every American sing-along song you can think of,” said McGee. 

“Handlers “ guided them throughout the trip, said McGee. His brother in Virginia, a physical therapist, and a bass player from Pennsylvania joined them to make up the Pat McGee Band.

“We certainly got our eyes opened wide by their day-to-day business,” said McAloon. “We helped to break up the mundane.” 

“I felt like we were on another planet at times,” said McGee. “But I now feel fortunate that we have them over there making the sacrifices they’re making. It really makes me appreciate what we have here.” 

McGee said the efficiency of how the military men and women work together was astounding -- even though it means “they do the exact same thing day after day.” 

“The four of us will have difficulty sharing all of our stories,” said McAloon.

“There were some moments that I said, I can’t believe we’re even doing this,” said McGee.