If you may recall, he also did a "We're here for a good time" video while visiting troops in FYR. It was on the 22 minutes website. I'll see if I can find it.
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/Feature_Story/2004/jan04/28_f_e.asp
By Capt Darren Steele
Comedian Rick Mercer (centre), along with Sgt Paul Ogilvie (left) and MCpl Sean Rhoads (right) both from Quebec Company of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battalion Group, tape a segment for Rick Mercer's Christmas in Kabul.
Photo by Sgt Alain Martineau
Have you ever wanted to be in a television show? Do you dream of directing or producing, or would you be satisfied with hanging around behind the scenes to see how it all comes together? Well, that's what I got to do when CBC's Rick Mercer took veteran rocker Tom Cochrane and singer Damhnait Doyle to Kabul to do a Christmas special with the troops on Operation ATHENA.
At the beginning of September, television producer Geoff D'Eon called J5PA with an idea: CBC would like to stage a variety show at Camp Julien and film it for prime-time broadcast at Christmas. Was the CF interested? Yes, very interested.
This was not the first CF operation for Mr. D'Eon or Mr. Mercer, both went to Bosnia in 2000 with cameraman Patrick Doyle to do a short segment of â Å“This Hour Has 22 Minutesâ ?. Mr. Mercer in a flak jacket and soldiers singing â Å“I'm Here For A Good Time, Not a Long Timeâ ?, was a huge hit, bringing more than 20 000 e-mails in support of Canadian troops to DND and CBC Web sites.
Rick Mercer performs during the recording of his television Christmas Special in Kabul, Afghanistan at Camp Julien. This was a special performance for members of the 3 RCR BG who are currently stationed in Kabul in support of Operation Athena.
Photo by Cpl Ronald Duchesne
Mr. Mercer is a strong CF supporter, and he wanted to do a show, that was bigger and better than the first. The 2003 effort was, indeed, a much bigger deal. It involved literally hundreds of details, many critical, and some hard to take seriously at firstâ â€like wanting to send a Christmas tree to Kabul.
The CBC really had its heart set on a tree and, sure enough, on November 28, a three-metre pine arrived at 8 Wing Trenton for shipment to Kabul.
One detail at a time, everything got done: equipment shipped, team cleared, flights booked. On December 7, we took off for Kabul, a two-day trip by way of Dubai, where Sergeant Alain Martineau, Combat Camera and I joined the CBC troupe.
From the moment we arrived in Afghanistan until the moment we left, we never stopped noticing how different everything was from home. The trip to Camp Julien was a blur of bombed buildings, punctuated by new construction. The markets we saw were full of food and other goods, and the people seemed happy. Camp Julien amazed us. It's bigâ â€and we should know; we circled it often enough with the CBC videographers gathering footage.
Tom Cochrane and Damhnait Doyle perform for the troops during the recording of Rick Mercer's television Christmas Special in Kabul, Afghanistan at Camp Julien.
Photo by Cpl Ronald Duchesne
Despite the months of preparation, I was astounded by the work ethic of the CBC team. They went non-stop from sun-up until well after dark, especially the performers. They were, after all, doing far more than making a TV show; they were there to perform for the troops, and the Christmas special was just a good excuse. While the stage, lighting and sound crews set up the performance venue, Mr. Mercer and Mr. Cochrane toured the camp, joking, singing and chatting with everyone they met. On the last day, they even made a special trip to Camp Warehouse.
The 90-minute variety show was staged three times to ensure that as many troops as possible could see it despite round-the-clock duty schedules.
There really is no business like show business. Mr. Mercer utilized additional footage from the trip earlier this month showcasing a number of soldiers in Kabul and making clear his support for the CF and its members during an episode of â Å“The Monday Reportâ ?.