Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher traded in his pinstripes for camouflaged body armor when he and his new wife headed to Afghanistan over Thanksgiving.  Swisher and actress JoAnna Garcia, a star of ABC’s “Better Without You,” visited US troops at Forward Operating Base Shank in Logar province, marking their first trip together since they married in December 2010.  Read more after the jump.
“My life has been changed by the amazing troops I met in Germany & Afghanistan,” the star slugger tweeted Friday. “Thank you for your sacrifice & for keeping us safe.”
Speaking to the New York Post in August at the YankeesUnite for Tornado Relief event in New York, Swisher said, “Three military officers came to the Yankee locker room and asked if any of us would like to visit the troops. My hand went straight up; I said, ‘I’m in.’ I knew Joanna would want to go. It will be our first trip since we got married.”
“I come from a military family … and no matter what your views are, these men and women are out there risking everything for us. I realize how fortunate I have been, so I like to give back at every opportunity I can,” he added.
Swisher and Garcia married in Palm Beach, Fla., in front of 350 family and friends including Cameron Diaz, Alex Rodriguez and other Yankees teammates. But they had to postpone the honeymoon because of work commitments.
Excited Garcia also told the Post, “We are both really looking forward to visiting the troops. Yes, it isn’t a traditional honeymoon, but it is something we both feel strongly about.” But she added, “We’ll probably make a stop in Europe on our way back.”
