PIC: Kellie Pickler Wears Sexy Military Outfit on Maxim Cover

USMagazine, Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 5:30am (PDT)

Kellie Pickler is giving troops a sexy salute!

In the new issue of Maxim, Pickler, 26, poses in a military-inspired bra top for the cover. The former American Idol contestant just finished her fifth USO tour and shared her experiences with the magazine.

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Pickler comes from a military family and has "always had a great deal of respect for anyone who serves our country."

"This past trip we were at Camp Spann in Afghanistan, and there's a little chapel there. It's nothing fancy, but it has a lot of love, and my whole band and I stayed up one night until 3 a.m., picking with the soldiers who played guitar," she explained to Maxim. "We had a picking party. It's kind of like a songwriter round, and people jump up onstage, pick and play whatever they want, and sing their hearts out. It was really cool to do that in a little chapel in Afghanistan."

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Picker admitted the accommodations during her trips can be difficult, but said, "You really forget about your surroundings. When I look back at pictures, I'm like, 'Wow. That was a bit of a dump.' "

"When we went to Iraq, we stayed in one of Saddam's palaces. It was kind of creepy," the "I Wonder" singer shared. "If those walls could talk, there’s no telling what stories they’d tell. It's nicer than a tent, but in some ways a tent might be better, you know?" 

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While Picker is devoted to supporting the troops, she did confess she "hates" singing the National Anthem. "I love the anthem if someone else is singing it, but doing it myself gives me anxiety!" she exclaimed. "I feel like people are waiting for you to mess up! I've done it before and I'll do it again, I'm sure, but I'd rather show my patriotism by going to Afghanistan."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: PIC: Kellie Pickler Wears Sexy Military Outfit on Maxim Cover