Katherine Jenkins has performed two special concerts for hundreds of UK troops after making a visit to Afghanistan with The British Forces Foundation. The mezzo soprano singer, accompanied by renowned comedian Kane Brown, Capital FM presenter and comic Greg Burns and up-and-coming singer/songwriter TJ Bilham, travelled with the charity as part of a 3-day morale-boosting visit to Camp Bastion. During a busy first day she toured the Joint Aviation Group, met aircrews and stepped aboard Apache, Lynx and Chinook helicopters. At Theatre Engineering Group she met Army divers and military working dog teams, before giving an evening performance with her fellow artists at Engineering Support. Yesterday Katherine spent more time signing autographs and visiting personnel going though theatre arrival training at Reception, Staging and Onward Integration (RSOI). During the afternoon she visited Theatre Logistic Group (TLG), where she sang an impromptu Happy Birthday song for Craftsmen Bryan Larkin. The 22-year-old, who works as a vehicle maintainer at TLG, said: "It was a real surprise when she sang Happy Birthday. I'm two months into my tour and the last thing I expected was to be sitting on a vehicle with Katherine Jenkins singing on my birthday." Katherine, who is a patron of The British Forces Foundation, has previously performed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and mainland UK. She completed her visit by singing for hundreds more personnel at the Danish sector of Camp Bastion. She said: "Returning to Afghanistan has been just as emotional and humbling as the first time in 2007. I would like to thank everyone I met in Camp Bastion for making it an experience I will never forget and send my love to all the families of those on Operation Herrick. "It is an immense honour to be able to perform for the men and women of our Armed Forces and I will continue to do so for as long as they want me to." BFF Chief Executive Officer, Mark Cann, said: "It doesn't matter what this visit means for BFF, it matters to the guys we have come to see. If they all think it's been a success, a lift, and they get a sense of people back home being behind them, then we have done our job. "Katherine's commitment to the Armed Forces and willingness to come to places such as Camp Bastion, time and time again, is utterly brilliant. She is a star."

• published: 19 Nov 2013
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