Troops in Afghanistan get a laugh from local comedian

Local Prince Albert comedian Kelly Taylor is yucking it up across international waters.

He has just returned from a four-day trip in Afghanistan where he, along with several others entertained the Canadian Forces as part of a Canada Day celebration. This group known as the 2012 Team Canada included Glass Tiger, singer-songwriter Liz Coyles, and former hockey players Tiger Williams and Mark Napier.

“The whole thing was a highlight. Just talking to all the different troops … they told us before going over there that (the troops) are going to be very appreciative, which kind of seems crazy in our mind because they’re the guys that are over there for nine months and we’re coming over for three days,” Taylor said.

Entertaining troops is something Taylor has been interested in for a couple years, but due to varying circumstances couldn’t, so when he was offered the opportunity he jumped on it.

“I’ve always followed military stuff and just for everyone to be aware what these kind of guys do for us, I hope everyone has a respect for these guys,” he said.

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Taylor laughed as he explained how the group travelled in style to Afghanistan, flying in the Prime Minister’s plane, Airbus No. 1.

“It was 18 hours and I was excited, so we kind of had a few drinks—maybe more than a few drinks on the plane,” he chuckled, adding he only slept four hours the entire trip because of the adrenaline rush.

The first thing Taylor noticed hit him like a wall as soon as he stepped off the plane—the heat.

“I’ve never had heat like that,” he said referencing the sensation to a hair dryer in the face. “It was over 50 degrees. It was crazy.”

He explained it was so hot his iPhone would shut down when he tried to use it.

“I never even knew iPhones did that!”

Taylor spent some time describing his experiences in Afghanistan from visiting places like Kabul and touring the naval ship HMCS Charlottetown with the Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay, other dignitaries, and troops. Taylor often broke into laughs as he shared stories from the trip that he, along with his fellow entertainers, lived.

“It’s incredible sites,” he said, explaining that by the last night he had hit his “third wind”. “We didn’t even go to bed … we just stayed up all night.”

Despite being in a country that many deem as highly dangerous, Taylor said he never felt fear.

“I always felt safe. I was never too worried,” he said as he described his regular outfit of a helmet, bullet proof vest, and full defensive gear.

The vehicle driving the Team Canada convoy around, known to Taylor as the People Pod, was another way the group was kept safe. He said if they were hit with an improvised explosive device (IED) they could be self-contained within the vehicle for three days unharmed.

“I was kind of talking with some other guys and you know what, we almost all had the same kind of feeling; as much as we didn’t want anything to happen, we kind of did because we felt so safe in that sense. We’re in this people pod. It seems like this incredible machine we were in.”

The whole trip was positive for the local comedian and he would sign up again in a heartbeat.

“I already told (the organizer) when we were there, I said ‘if there’s anything you need from me for sure I’m there’ and it’s all free like no one’s getting paid for it, we just want to do it.”

sstone@panow.com