Blog - DDP and the Military
Hey Cutters…


We finally touch down in Kuwait about 23 hours after leaving LA where we met our Army tour manager Chief Chris Pace and our head of security SGT Shawn Brunello… these guys were the best and we all became very good friends … It’s funny because I always thought of Kuwait as being in the middle of the shit (the War zone) but the truth is Kuwait is more like Beverly Hills … Iraq is a whole different story… We got to catch a cat nap in Kuwait for a few hours and then we were off to Al Asad Base in Western Iraq to see the Marines… what a reception we got from these guys…
Upon our arrival at Al Asad which is one of those bases that is in the middle of NOWHERE, the girls were feeling a little sick from a crazy landing in the C130. I guess the pilot did some negative G shit along with many twists and turns along with a rapid descent… I didn’t really feel it but ladies up front almost lost it… But these girls Cowboy up when the call is given. Although the pilots are required to do a few maneuvers in case a missile is being fired at them (it is a war zone), this particular pilot took it a little overboard, according to some of our passengers and our escorts. They said the pilot was trying to show off for the girls, but it actually back fired on the guys, because the ladies would normally stay and take pictures and hang out with the pilots forever… they love the pilots… The bottom line was they felt the C130 pilots where f*cking with them… they felt a little sick and as a result they wanted to leave as quick as possible… Like I said the girls Cowboy up (as they would do the entire tour) but they don’t take any shit either… We all still took one group shot but the girls like I said would have gone over and above but they felt like they got ribbed so it was off to the next location.


Like I said the place is packed… there must have been 400 Marines there and they were probably the only ones that were off duty at the time… we were there about 3 hours and that is where I got my first semi-challenge … a young Marine I can’t remember his name but this is his picture.


I leaned my head next to his head and whispered… do you here how I’m breathing right now… it was a calm as could be and then I said do you here how you are breathing … he was sucking it up BIG time and I mimicked him and then I said if you were breathing like I am breathing you’ve got an other 3 in you and then said I’m going to lower myself now… if I didn’t we may still have been there… Marines don’t quit… Especially when your buddy Marines are depending on you to step up… So stepped off… when he stood up he was sweating like he just ran 5 miles… after congratulating him –I looked him right in the eye and said btw bro that was my 3 time I did this today… I told him I was leaving 2 YRG DvDs (I left the YRG DvDs everywhere I went) at the dam for him to work on his core… I wonder if he’ll ever do it… I’ll keep you posted… the next morning I was up at 5:30 am to do YRG with about 30 Marines no wonder they call the Dam the sweat box…


He is someone I am sure I will build a long distance relationship for years to come… That is what is so cool about doing these tours, the people who’s lives you touch and the ones that touch yours.
Later that night they did the marine combat demonstration. A female marine got up and sang the National Anthem with the American Flag waving behind her. The realization of being in Fallujah, Iraq(one of the most dangerous areas in the world) with a room full of Marines and Soldiers and hearing the song of our country almost had the girls in tears, it seemed surreal.
Afterward the man who invented the Marines Martials Program, LT COL Bristol got up and gave one of the most powerful speeches I’ve ever heard … It inspired me so much I just got up and spoke after the Colonel was finished… I had no idea what I was going to say but all just came to me like I had been doing it for years… I think it was one of the most powerful presentations that I have ever given and the people seemed to agree. Of course I brought YRG into and before you know after we signed about 400 autographs I had about 35 people stay for the YRG class… we didn’t get out of there until almost 11pm and we were up the next day up at at 3:45 am, yes 3:45 am so that we could catch a 4:30am fight to Camp Victory where they picked us up in an Armored Truck … if you have been reading these emails for a while you know that is where I started my tour last time… Camp Victory or Baghdad is where that asshole Saddam used to live … when I was there last time it was pretty beat up … today it’s pretty sweet and we got a tour of the AL Faw Water Palace, signing autographs along the way. We ended up at the DFAC (mess hall) which is always the best place to surprise Soldiers who have no idea your there… the next morning I had to get up for 5:30 YRG class, it’s funny because that’s the normal time on that day that they actually have a yoga class but only about 4 or 5 people show up… a few of the guys the day before told me that they went to try the yoga class once but they were playing weird music and chanting and shit… can you imagine me doing that in my class? … For such an early class we had more than 40 people…



I found out later that he had just won the base bench press contest a week earlier… that was destiny and a lot of fun. That night we watched “Devil’s Rejects” in the house’s living room, and it felt as though we were at a sleep over at someone’s house, rather than being in the middle of a war zone.
We went to Q-West the next day. Trust me it’s no Key West… It was about an hour and forty minute black hawk ride. We did some negative maneuvers and had a little fun during the ride. There was an unbelievable view during the ride. The terrain was magnificent. As we flew over the small villages, locals would wave to us, as their way of showing appreciation and gratitude for us being there.
The next morning we went to Balad/Anaconda Base. This was the first place we did the YRG class in the gym, while the girls went to visit some soldiers in the hospital. We did both signings in the DFAC at this base.
Next we went to Mosul. No pictures allowed during the signing in the DFAC. but the troops could take them in gym… this was the biggest turn out for YRG over 60 guys



They really thought they had me and the red headed kid on the left is saying to me so Diamond what are you going to do now and he’s laughing like a mad man… and I said well how about this and I laid what may have been the loudest fart you have EVER the fact it was on the basketball floor only made it louder … they sold it big time… they scattered like cockroaches… I’m still laughing out loud when I think about. The next morning we got up and went to the shooting range, and got to shoot the sniper rifles, and other various rifles and pistols which was great.
When we got the next base in Tal-Afar(Northwest Iraq), I sat down at lunch like I always do and started talking to the boys at some point I said so what do you do to fill the time when you not working or working out and the one guy says I’m building a go-cart out of spare parts we find around the base… later as we were doing our rounds I saw the same guys and the mechanics outside and stopped to check the Go cart out… Later that night I gave a speech in a large theatre that was nearly filled. After we finished I was off to do YRG with the boys
When we got off on our last stop at a place called Kirkuk/FOB Warrior I ran into a buddy of mine & Tim Sullivan’s name Rick Bolander on the airpot runway… dam what a small world … Rick saw a flier saying I was going to be there and made plans to hang with us for the day and stayed till the night where we once again signed autographs and finished with the YRG workout afterwards. We sure as hell started a YRG movement over there in Iraq and I can’t think of a better place to have it started it to help the guys with there breathing and inner peace…
I want to personally thank each of the girls (Bonnie Jill, Traci & Kitana) for being so great with guys and so easy to work with and Shawn and the Chief for taking care of all of us as good as it can be done and of course Brian Lee aka Sag Hulka… aka the Big Toe…aka Miso Lee… aka Mr. Burgandy… your the best bro I look forward to our next journey together…
One of the really cool things about this trip for me personally was the response from the guys as a whole and how they greeted me… My buddy Brian Lee wrote this to me after checking out my copy…

And Jay z wonders why I just won’t roll over and let him take the Diamond Cutter sign from me… It was also great to hear all the support I got from the troops when it came to Jay z ripping me of… Yet a few times I was asked the question why I was doing the Rock sign… Obviously those guys never watched wrestling… On both occasions they got hit with lefts and rights from guys around them explaining the Diamond Cutter sing was DDP’s sign and that Jay z ripped me off… It was poetic justice in a way again knowing that the Military had my back once again… Thanks for everything guys… Thanks for everything you do… See you then next time I get to Iraq…
That’all for now… I am getting ready to leave for a trip to South Africa where I will be filming my next movie with Wesley Snipes called GallowWalker directed by Andrew Goth… I will tell you more about this in my next email…
Do YRG & Live Life @ 90%

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