Pink is the New Blog

Soccer stud David Beckham, who we last saw home in SoCal doing a bit of grocery shopping with his family last week, has made his way to Afghanistan to pay a visit to the British troops who are stationed there. Becks, who will be making his way to South Africa soon to be in the World Cup soccer tournament as a member of the English Team, decided to make a pass thru Afghanistan to spend time with and thank the brave soldiers serving there. Here are a couple of photos and some deets from his visit:

David Beckham paid tribute today to the “amazing” work of British troops in Afghanistan during a visit to the country. The footballer posed for pictures and signed autographs for troops in Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, where around 9,000 British soldiers are based. In temperatures hitting 45C the player was shown round the camp and even given a lesson in how to handle weapons. ‘You know I’ve been here just one night so far and the experience has been even more than I could have ever hoped,’ he said in an interview with BFBS: British Forces News. To see the morale of the troops is really incredible. It first kind of hit me on the way over when we were on the military plane flying in to Afghanistan. You can see the faces, you can see obviously they know they are leaving their families, but they’re so focused and they’ve got this look in their eyes that they’re just so confident and just ready. ‘That really is an unbelievable sight to see, and you feel it as well.’ Beckham started his day with full English breakfast in the cookhouse before taking part in a question and answer session with troops, signing autographs and visiting the camp’s hospital. Squadron Leader Sarah Charters, who runs the emergency unit at the hospital, told him about the work they do. She said: ‘A visit like this means a lot to everyone here. It is an absolute honour to work in an environment like this where I know I am contributing to help save lives and David’s visit reminds everyone at home of what we actually do here.’ Beckham also received a lesson in weapon handling from Craftsman Bob Floy, from Doncaster, who showed him how to use different weapons including a heavy machine gun. With temperatures in the camp reaching 45C (113F), the star then visited the HQ of 40 Commando where he joined senior officers cooling off their feet in a paddling pool. [Beckham] also visited 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles and took part in a penalty challenge with them, and scored with his only attempt … He said: “Just yesterday one of the troops was killed, and you feel it and you see the flags at half-mast and you feel the tension there. It really is, like I said, amazing to be around but you feel the love from everybody. ‘It just really is scary work. These guys are the bravest people that I’ve ever met and it really is, it truly is, an honour to be here.’

This is so amazing to see … that Becks would take the time to make his way to such a dangerous battle zone to spread as much cheer and goodwill as he can to these brave British troops is really something. It truly sounds like Becks was humbled by the experience and may now have a greater appreciation for the service and sacrifice of all military personnel. I kinda also love that Becks decided to learn how to handle big machinery and I really love that he was happy to show off his big gun ;) After the jump, check out a few more fun photos from Becks‘s visit with these troops … More »