CHERYL VISITS HERO SOLDIERS
Cheryl Cole has helped choose the next generation of pop stars, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief and had a very public battle with malaria. But not even sparring with Simon Cowell prepared her for the toughest tour of her career – meeting British soldiers at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
The star arrived at Camp Bastion after a 12 hour flight from the UK. She had helped serve sausage, mash and peas to surprised soldiers on the plane and didn’t get much rest after she landed. Cheryl was issued with a uniform and body armour and given the chance to watch soldiers carrying out a mock attack on an enemy compound.
Cheryl Cole says
"I always had admiration for what the soldiers do out here, but seeing them here at work was awe inspiring. Every one of them is a hero in my book."
Over 8500 soldiers are based at Camp Bastion and just about everyone wanted their picture taken with the former Girls Aloud singer. But there was still time for her to get to grips with a Jackal armoured vehicle and take part in the staged evacuation of a casualty.
And Cheryl was impressed with what she saw. “I always had admiration for what the soldiers do out here, but seeing them here at work was awe inspiring,” she said. “Every one of them is a hero in my book.”
Not surprisingly, the soldiers were fairly impressed too. “Having her out here has really lifted morale,” said one of the soldiers. “She’s definitely the biggest star to visit.”