Country music singer Trace Adkins is no stranger to being in the spotlight, but just like the military community he supports, he remains humble when being honored.

Adkins was awarded the National Defense Industrial Association's Dwight D. Eisenhower Award on Thursday for being an "exceptional leader and advocate" for service members.

Since his first USO tour in 2002, he has performed for the troops overseas 10 times, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an installation in the United States that he hasn't visited. He also visits with wounded warriors during his tours and meets privately with families of fallen service members.

Military Times sat down with Adkins before the award ceremony in the Washington, D.C., area to talk about his experience with troops and veterans over the past 14 years.

Trace Adkins received NDIA's Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for his support of service members and veterans.

Photo Credit: National Defense Industrial Association

Tell me what this award means to you and how you felt when you found out you won it.

I was like, me? It's humbling. It's embarrassing. I get a lot of pats on the back for doing stuff with the military and veterans organizations, and it's always embarrassing because they're the ones that make the sacrifices and have dedicated their lives to service, and all I do is just silly — sing songs. But it is an honor to be recognized for supporting the men and women of the military.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read that one of your regrets is not joining the military.

I don't know that it's a regret, but I came just a breath away from joining. Nothing was going on in 1980 when I graduated high school, so I went and played college football. But I was set up to go take the placement test and everything for the Marine Corps.

What would you have wanted to do in the Marine Corps?

I probably would have been straight up infantry.

Is supporting the military your way of giving back?

I just have such respect for the men and women that have dedicated their lives to service of their country. I want to pay tribute to them and respect to them, and it's just my way to do it.

Why do you think that service members and veterans identify with your music?

Some of my songs I know speak to them, and not even the military or patriotic songs that I've done. It's all the other stuff. I did a song one time, "I Came Here to Live I Didn't Come Here to Die," and I was doing a meet-and-greet in Iraq and there was this young man who came up to me and he had [the lyric] tattooed on his forearms.

Is there one event that has stood out to you?

Well it's hard to beat doing a tailhook landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier, and doing a cat shot off of one. That's memorable. There's been a lot of things, guys that I've met, places I've been. Outside of joining the military, nobody gets to do that kind of stuff. But I've gotten to do a lot of things like that that are just unforgettable experiences.

Country music star Trace Adkins performs his first USO show in Japan for airmen and their families stationed at Yokota Air Base on November 27, 2012. Among the first entertainer to travel to the Middle East with the USO in 2002, Adkins has lifted the spirits of more than 29,000 servicemen and women over the eleven year span. USO Photo by Dave Gatley

Adkins performs his first USO show in Japan for airmen and their families stationed at Yokota Air Base in November 2012.

Photo Credit: Dave Gatley/USO

What does it mean to you being able to meet service members and veterans?

I tell people when asked, "Why do you do so much stuff with military and veterans organizations?" My response is very simple: If you have an opportunity to hang out with, associate with, heroes, you should do that because it's a very rewarding experience. Maybe some of what they have will rub off on you. Never hurts to be in the company of brave, courageous heroes. It's always a good experience.

What do you think you've learned or gained from meeting service members and veterans?

It gives you perspective. Sometimes we want to complain about things, you know, the traffic or my flight was delayed or my hotel's not up to par, whatever, and it's just so silly compared to some of the conditions that those guys are in. I was in Iraq in the summer one time when it was so incredibly hot, I just thought, I would probably get discharged and sent home because someday I would just go, "I'm not going outside today. It's too hot. It's 135 degrees. I'm not going outside. Sorry." You get in those kinds of situations and some of those [forward operating bases] that we would go out to, they make the living conditions as good as you can make them, but still it's like camping out in the desert.

It reminds me of an old veteran that said, "It doesn't matter how cold it gets. I can always say it's not Bastogne cold." [Referring to the Seize of Bastogne in Belgium in December 1944.] That's what we say sometimes, me and my guys, when it's hot and we're about to do a show, and we're like, "Yeah, but it's not Iraq hot."

Acting Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy and NDIA Board Chair Sid Ashworth present Trace Adkins with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award on Thursday near Washington, D.C.

Photo Credit: National Defense Industrial Association

What are some of your upcoming projects?

We're going to the Persian Gulf in June. I know we have a show in Bahrain and a couple shows in Kuwait. They don't always tell you where you're going because they don't want us telling everybody where we're going. I make a good target with that cowboy hat on.

I got a new song on my new album called "Soldier," and it's different from any of the other songs that I've done like that. It's just a guy and he's home now and he's trying to readjust to normal life and everything. He's transitioning well and everything's going well, but he's still a soldier. If they called him he'd go back, that kind of thing. He's done his tours, but he's still a soldier.

When did you start doing things for the military community?

My first USO tour was 2002, and we went to Bahrain and did a show at a naval base there. ... Then we went out to the USS Abraham Lincoln and did a show for those sailors and Marines on that ship. I'll never forget that.When we left, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I signed a bunch of bombs and stuff. We left and we hadn't been gone very long when the war started, and they started dropping bombs on Baghdad and I knew that some of those bombs I signed were probably in there.

What are some of the reactions when you perform for troops?

Before I ever went to do my first USO tour, I was at an event, I can't remember now what it was, but Wayne Newton was there. After Bob Hope, Wayne Newton really kind of became the USO guy and did a lot of USO stuff over the years. I knew that and had a chance to speak to him and I was like, "I'm going to do my first USO tour, what should I expect?" And he just looked at me and said, "Expect to feel guilty when you come home." And that's all he said and he walked away and I thought, "Well, a little more than that I was hoping for."

So I wondered what he was talking about. Then I did it and I came home and I went, "Oh I get it." You go over there and it doesn't matter how well you think you performed or how much you think you gave them, it always seemed like they gave you more. They're just the most appreciative audience you'll ever play for. They're just glad you're there. ... And then you get to leave and come home and they don't. You come home with this sense of pride because you've been in the presence of these folks, but at the same time there's that little tinge of guilt that's gnawing at you because you got to come home and maybe you didn't give enough to them or do enough. That's what it's been like.

Charlsy Panzino covers veterans education, employment and transition issues, as well as travel, entertainment and fitness. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com. 

About Charlsy Panzino

Charlsy is a Reporter and Engagement Manager for Military Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.

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