Troops rock out in the front row at Operation MySpace / Photo by Specialist Richard Del Vecchio, U.S. Army

Hordes of young people gather in the middle of nowhere, raising devil horns and pumping fists along to a rock-radio staple. Laser lights penetrate the deep night sky and catch dust particles launched by the stomping of boots on desert ground. But these are not Doc Martens in the Coachella mosh pit; they're the combat boots of 5,000 men and women who are mostly wrapped in the sandstone camouflage of the U.S. Army, and strapped with M16 rifles.

On this March evening, MySpace, Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE), and the Department of Defense have transformed Camp Buehring, a military base in Kuwait 15 miles south of the Iraqi border, into a giant concert venue. Featuring sets from Filter, Disturbed, the Pussycat Dolls, Jessica Simpson, and comedian Carlos Mencia, Operation MySpace is meant to offer a much-needed night of mindless diversion to the troops, the majority of whom have just arrived in the Middle East for active duty in Iraq, and is being simulcast via its namesake website to an estimated three million viewers worldwide.

"When the troops kept thanking me, I was like, 'Stop! I am here to thank you,' " says Filter frontman Richard Patrick. "I really felt like I was doing a service." But when it comes to getting the soldiers' minds off combat for a little while, Operation MySpace is hardly the norm.

But when it comes to getting the soldiers' minds off combat for a little while, Operation MySpace is hardly the norm. Gone are the days of the star-studded USO (United Service Organizations) tours, where the likes of Bob Hope and Marilyn Monroe would perform at U.S. military bases worldwide -- since Vietnam, the USO has diverted more resources to services such as mental health care for active soldiers. And booking acts is complicated by the fact that AFE and the USO are at the mercy of the Department of Defense. "DOD has to officially accept the offer, because entertainment is not the primary mission of the military," says the USO's Rachel Tischler. "We need the military a big boost. "There are groups that to move us around and provide go out and they come back and tell security and all that good stuff."

Money, of course, is just as big a factor. The backing of a major company helped Operation MySpace book big-ticket talent, but this is the exception to the rule. For its part, AFE prefers to spend its congressionally appropriated $6.5 million annual budget -- which has to cover the bands' travel (usually on commercial flights into the Middle East, then via military transport once they've arrived), rented gear, and a small per diem -- on lesser-known acts, thereby increasing the frequency of shows. The USO pays only a $50 to $150 per diem -- yes, even for Jessica Simpson -- and also covers only the production costs, travel expenses, and hotel stays for its performers.

But can a band make a living from military touring?