Cincinnati Ben-Gal cheerleader Kristen Schneider, 20, with a photo of her and her brother Brandon, 22, taken when the cheerleaders visited U.S. troops stationed overseas during a recent USO tour. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

The Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleaders lifted the spirits of thousands of U.S. soldiers when they toured American bases in Kosovo and Bosnia last month.

But there was no soldier more happy to see them than Spc. Brandon Schneider. For him, it was a chance to see his little sister.

"He had a permanent smile the whole time we were there,'' said 20-year-old Ben-Gal cheerleader Kristen Schneider, who was reunited with her brother in Kosovo. "It was wonderful.''

The 22-year-old soldier was given a five-day leave so he could spend time with his sister and her fellow cheerleaders.

For Kristen, the youngest of the 28-member cheerleading squad, it was a chance to spend time with the big brother she had not seen in more than a year.

It was the first overseas USO tour for the Ben-Gals cheerleading troupe.

Howard Wilkinson