Kellie Pickler Poses For the USO

What do Charlie Sheen and Kellie Pickler have in common? The USO is currently very happy with them. While Sheen won them over with the largest donation ever from an individual, Pickler is winning them over with each turn of her recent photo shoot for Maxim magazine.

The 26-year-old country singer turns on the sex appeal with a photo shoot that mixes current trends, like crop tops and peek-a-boo swimsuits, with 1950s trends such as high-waisted bottoms and the loose, wavy hair worn down. She sort of looks like an extremely petite Marilyn Monroe – with fewer clothes on.

Many people may not know how involved with the USO Pickler has been, but she has happily participated in multiple USO tours. Her first tour was 2007-2008 and took her to Iraq. Her second tour, in 2010, went through Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and England. In January 2010, Pickler participated in her third tour, a 10-day tour with Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson, which stopped in Iraq and Kuwait. The threesome reportedly played in remote bases close enough to the action that gunfire was heard throughout the night.

Pickler proudly commemorates each tour with a star tattoo on her left arm.

"My grandmother would be mortified if she knew I had [tattoos],” Pickler told Maxim.  “She's passed away now, but she would say, 'Tattoos are the devil!' So my first tattoo, of course, was my grandma's name.”

When asked why she participates in the USO tours, Pickler responded, "I come from a military family. My grandfather is a retired Marine, and I've always had a great deal of respect for anyone who serves our country. It really does take someone special to sacrifice everything. I don't mean just their lives, either. There are men who are sacrificing the chance to hold their newborn baby!"

Pickler has named her time with the USO as her most rewarding post-American Idol experiences and has nothing but positive things to say about the organization.

“[The USO takes] a little piece of home to our servicemen and women overseas. We were blessed to be able to perform in Kuwait and Afghanistan. It is a moment to just say thank you. It’s so wild the sacrifices that they make, that we don’t even know about. Not just the servicemen and women, but their families as well. Knowing your husband is off fighting a war, it makes it hard to sleep at night. It’s wonderful what they do.”