Sheen or our soldiers?

There were a lot of steaks.

There also were plenty of tears.

A good steak doesn’t normally bring tears at Dave Kelleck’s Outback Steakhouse in Boardman. But it does when that steak is being served thousands of miles away to people who are serving you with their lives.

Kelleck was one of 27 members of the Outback restaurant group who in November went to Afghanistan to bring a little bit of American flavor to the troops. But more of an impact was left on Kelleck and his team.

“There are thousands of people there sacrificing so you can live your daily life,” he said. “They’re there so we can be here.”

Outback and its four partner restaurants have been heading to war zones since 2002 and to date, have served more than 167,000 troops. They’re a self-contained army of bloomin’ onions. Kelleck’s team met in Washington, D.C., to launch their 18-day trip. They were accompanied by 88,000 pounds of food.

Their days were long and the faces were many — 6,000 troops in Kyrgyzstan, 7,000 troops at Camp Dwyer, 3,000 troops at Camp Deleram and 14,000 troops at Camp Leatherneck.

But it’s those faces ...

“Their age is unbelievable. They look like 20 local high school kids who you gave rifles to,” Kelleck said.

Yet without fail, he said, their resolve was as strong as their lives were young.

“I never heard talk of questioning why they’re there. They knew their job.”

The resolve was most evident, perhaps, when steaks were delivered to the wounded guys — bandaged bodies, facial cuts, neck wounds and more — all with one goal:

“Their desire to get back with their group was overwhelming,” Kelleck said.

As overwhelming as that life was for the Outback crews, life on base was rather procedural for the troops, he said. The kitchens are spotless, troops flow into dinner one after another for three hours as precise and orderly as an orchestra. Food services on base are contracted out with lots of locals doing the work. Kelleck said steak is offered to the troops, but military steak is, to be polite, a far cry from Outback.

Some troops were aware of Outback’s arrival. Others stumbled upon it.

“Medium rare — pleeeaaase,” Kelleck recalled one Marine asking, delighted to have a choice. (Base standard is well-done.)

Kelleck wore Youngstown State University wear around base hoping to draw a local or two. A Sharon, Pa., Marine found him.

“They were so glad to just meet civilians. They wanted to talk football,” Kelleck said. “But often, they just wanted to know that someone knows.”

Camp Leatherneck is a massive facility, he said, estimating that it’s the size of Boardman. And nothing about it and the constant construction looks to him like it’s a temporary place for the U.S. The Outback crews took on some military routines. They wore body armor in certain areas and flew into some bases along established safe corridors. And they adjusted to lingo such as “DFAC” for “dining facility.”

Kelleck’s dad served in World War II. Kelleck did not serve, and his dad never pushed it on him. Kelleck has a teen son and said if military is his choice, he’ll be a supportive dad.

One day, when Kelleck arrived at his Boardman restaurant, several elderly gents were waiting for him at his front door. “Are you Dave?” he recalls them asking. They were area war veterans, and word had gotten out about his trip, and they came to thank him.

Through April 5, Outback has a special menu you can order from, with proceeds from those orders going toward the $1 million Outback has pledged to help military families at home.

Back home, it’s still the faces that stick with Kelleck. He shared e-mails that came from the troops and their families. He reacts differently to the day’s headlines.

“There was a headline awhile back that said ‘9 soldiers killed in Afghanistan’ and you wonder if it was one of your guys,” he said.

They grew closest to their various base escorts, who were assigned to them 24-7 and with whom they would play cards and swap stories. Saying goodbye to those troops at each base was always very emotional because the next day, they could be that headline.

Kelleck pauses, pondering Americans’ focus.

“And Charlie Sheen gets more attention than a guy over there.”

Todd Franko is editor of The Vindicator. He likes e-mails about stories and our newspaper. E-mail him at tfranko@vindy.com. He blogs, too, on vindy.com.