WWE Superstars and Divas once again showed their support of the United States Armed Forces with the WWE Tribute to the Troops television special. This year’s special, which was filmed at Fort Benning, Georgia, will air on December 27th at 8pm ET/PT on NBC and in support of the star-studded holiday special, WWE’s The Miz took part in a conference call to discuss what it means to be a part of Tribute to the Troops.

Why is this event important for the company and you personally?

The Miz: “For me personally, it’s one of my favorite specials that WWE does. It’s incredible to be a part of it. I’ve been doing this for about six years now; WWE has been doing it for 12 years. My first year actually being a part of Tribute to the Troops I actually got to go over to Iraq and witness what our soldiers go through on a day-to-day basis. Now we can watch the news all we want and how they portray what a war is like and what’s going on, but until you actually go over there and see the life that a soldier lives, you have a whole newfound appreciation for the life they live.

I mean, when I went to Iraq, it was like a desert. There was nothing there. Some of the camps don’t even have running water. […] The only thing to do over there was work, eat and, if they had a gym, work out, and if they had Internet, if it was on, they could use that. But I mean, they really couldn’t talk to their families. You know, they’re secluded and all they really see is the soldiers in uniforms. So to bring the WWE out there in our normal clothes is just refreshing. It puts a little difference in their normal average everyday routine, and it kind of boosts morale is what most soldiers would tell us after we leave. You know, it would give them a new sensation, a new feeling of joy, which is the little things that you can do for what they do for us.

I remember being over there and talking to an 18-year-old kid who I asked him what do you do? And he’s like, ‘Well, I drive the armored vehicle.’ So he goes and shows me the armored vehicle, takes me around it, and I saw this orange pole sticking out at the front which seemed out of place to me. I go, ‘What’s the orange pole for?’ And he goes, ‘Oh, it blows up the landmine before it blows us up.’ And I go, ‘Oh my God, have you ever had that happen?’ He goes, ‘Yes, it just happened yesterday.’ Wait a second, this cannot be the conversation that we’re having right now and it can’t be normal. Like this was just a normal conversation, like so matter-of-fact, but, yes, it just happened yesterday. You know, no big deal. It’s like, ‘No, that’s not normal.’

Being blown up by a landmine and, granted, the armored vehicle is able to take that, but that’s scary. That’s supposed to be fearful. But these guys are the true real-life action heroes and they’re over there. So it’s the little things that we can do to really give back to our United States Armed Forces and our military. It’s truly incredible what they go through on a day-to-day basis. I mean, they’re away from their families, they’re away from their friends.

I remember signing an autograph and a soldier gave me a picture of me and a baby, and I go, ‘What’s this?’ And he goes, ‘Oh, you met my son before I did.’ And I go, ‘Oh my God.’ It just blew me away, it gave me chills, to hear that. But they’re so proud and they’re so respectful and happy to do what they’re doing. I just have the utmost respect for our United States Armed Forces, for what they do. So it’s the little things that we can give back.

You know, being at Fort Benning this year in Columbus, Georgia was truly an honor and so much fun. Some of the soldiers are being deployed the next day so this might be the last time that they get to spend with their family and friends for a very long time. So hopefully we can give them a memory that’ll last a lifetime with their family.”

Do you have any particular memory from this experience of going to Fort Benning?

The Miz: “You know, absolutely. I mean, each time we go to a different place, whether it’s going to Iraq or Bahrain or going to Fort Hood or Fort Bragg, like Fort Benning, each have a different vibe. And just going to see the uniformed soldiers with their families, with their friends, is just an amazing sight. It always gives me a newfound appreciation of what we’re doing, whether the soldiers are booing me or cheering me, it doesn’t really matter because WWE always likes to give them the show that they see on Monday Night Raw and the show that they see on Friday Night SmackDown, but also make it extra special.

We bring all our superstars and divas and not only that, we bring Florida Georgia Line to perform for them. There’s a bunch of celebrity messages from Angelina Jolie to Eva Longoria to the Kardashians, and many, many more. So it’s a lot of fun and it’s really cool and it’s very impactful.”

Is there a specific moment where you actually got to sit down and talk to a soldier whose story impacted you the most?

The Miz: “I was in Bahrain on an aircraft carrier where they don’t see land for like 30 days. They’re on the ocean for that long, and we went to a private location – couldn’t say where we were in Bahrain or where we were – but we get in there and I started talking to this one soldier and I asked him, ‘Why did you join?’ And he said, ‘I was working at Lids and just thinking about my life, and my wife, she got pregnant. It got me thinking, ‘Do I want my daughter to go to show-and-tell or to talk about her dad and do I want her to say, ‘Hey, my dad works at Lids,’ or do I want her to say my dad is in the United States Armed Forces?’ I just wanted her to be proud of me (and I wanted her) to have respect for me. And I couldn’t see her respecting me if I just worked at Lids. I can see her respecting if I worked for the United States Armed Forces. I want to do something noble, something that she can be proud of. And I wanted to protect her along with everyone else in the United States.”

Do you have a favorite place you’ve visited over the years of doing this special salute to the military?

The Miz: “I would say Iraq. It was my first tour for Tribute, and it just blows you away. Like, we went to so many bases and just to see the lives that they live out there, it’s really truly hard to explain. It’s a desert and there’s nothing to do, and I could just see people going stir crazy, especially when you’re away from just normalcies, things that we take for granted they don’t have. The Internet doesn’t work most of the time. Nowadays you look at kids and you look at the adults, you look at everybody, they’re always on their phones. You know, they don’t have their cell phones out 24/7 texting their buddies, Facebooking, and Twitter. It’s just can’t happen.

A lot of the times their Internet doesn’t work so they don’t get the small things that we take for granted, and it was truly interesting. I visited one where there’s no running water. I couldn’t imagine not living with water for six months to a year. I mean, just the things that they go through on a day-to-day basis, it’s just incredible and so noble. It’s really cool.”

Why do you think people enjoy tuning into the annual special?

The Miz: “I think people really enjoy tuning in because it’s a feel-good moment. It’s something that puts a smile on your face, that you can sit down with your family in front of your fire, maybe sip on some eggnog if you want, and just really enjoy a fun, interactive show where you get to see a crowd really interacting with the superstars. You can laugh, there’s drama, there’s comedy, there’s action, there’s real-life, true stories in there.

You get to see our soldiers in their uniforms with their families, and it’s just a really feel-good moment and I think people appreciate that. And I think with all the negativity that’s on the TV these days, it’s kind of nice to have something that’s all about positive and giving back, because this is the time to give back. It’s the holiday season.”

How did your six years of experience in being a part of Tribute to the Troops and your interaction with the troops impact your role in The Marine?

The Miz: “It’s a tremendous amount of pressure to go into a movie and call yourself The Marine, especially when you know the sacrifices that each and every Marine goes through on a day-to-day basis. And so when I went to do this movie, I said, “I want a Marine there [to] show me how they clear a room, how they hold a gun.’ I wanted to be able to do everything that the Marine does.

But honestly, I’m not going to war. You know, I’m filming a movie. I mean, these guys are the true heroes and I’m just trying to make an action film. While filming it I’m like, ‘God, the only thing I want, I could care less about all the critics, the only critic that I really care about is the United States Marine Corps and if they approve of it, if they like the movie.’ So from the feedback that I’d gotten, most people say they really enjoyed the movie. So that’s enough for me.”