As many women and men of the armed services have done before him, U.S. Army Ranger Ken Yasger has requested the company of a celebrity on a date.

In a new video uploaded by Yasger, the first openly gay Ranger in his unit, he requests the company of “Roar” singer Katy Perry at his Ranger Ball later this month. “Katherine Elizabeth Hudson, I would like to formally invite you to the Ranger Ball October 10, 2013. Katy Perry, will you please go to the Ranger Ball with me?” said Yasger in the two-minute clip, all the while blasting Perry’s single “E.T.” in the background.

According to Yasger, Perry’s three studio albums and film “Part of Me” have been his solace while serving overseas. He tells the singer that her music speaks to him in a way no other artist's does. “Katy, you’re an inspiration to me in a lot of ways, and this is what this video is for. This is the reason I'm inviting you and no other celebrity,” he said, adding his struggles with being an openly gay soldier have been helped through listening to her singles, specifically the 2012 hit song “Wide Awake.” “Your music really helped me get through it. I had family, friends, they helped me also, but I’d wake up in the morning and I’d been feeling really down… I’d listen to it while I got ready in the morning. No matter how down I felt, I would listen to that song and it would really help me get started for the day," he said.

Yasger's video, which had received more than 18,800 views as of Tuesday morning, also goes on to discuss Perry’s 2012 divorce from her husband of two years, comedian and actor Russell Brand. “I feel that since you got through that, I can get through [my difficulties] too, and that’s one thing that I love about you,” said Yasger, who told the 28-year-old singer that her music is his main inspiration in life.

This isn’t the first time Perry has been asked to attend a ball with a serviceman. According to a report from the Daily Mail, Lt. Clayton Heyward, a West Coast-based Navy F-18 pilot, requested the singer’s attendance at his Navy Ball in October 2012 via a now-viral YouTube clip.