Toby Keith on his Ninth USO Tour

Credit: facebook.com/catcountry1029

Toby Keith is on his ninth USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour. "My father was a veteran, and [in 2002] I wanted to go pay my respects and honor all the troops that were overseas fighting in different conflicts," Toby tells The Boot of his very first Middle East tour. "I got over there and fell in love with it. It's become part of my life now."


Since that first trip, Toby has played for more than 159,000 troops and their families. He'll add to that number on a 12-day USO tour covering three countries (with exact dates and locations kept secret for security reasons).


"It's a wonderful geography lesson. It's a wonderful history lesson. Not to mention getting to shake hands with heroes every single day you're over there," says Toby. "It also allows me to be the poster boy for the USO ... to get other entertainers and people who have something to offer to go over there and support our troops. That's the least I could do."