Let's Get Started! 2010 Steps to Honor Program Begins Today!

Steps to Honor 2010 begins today! Get your shoes on and get moving. Even if you participated last year, be sure to register for the 2010 program. You can register at www.militarymissionsonline.com/s2hregistration.htm.

You can read information about the program here in the right sidebar or you can go to www.militarymissionsonline.com/steps2honor.htm. There you will find more detailed information and documents you can download and print out. A mileage log is also available.

If you form a walking or running group, let us know. We will post the info here on our site so people in your area can join you.

Send us your photos. We will upload them here so our heroes can visibly see your support.

Let's show our heroes how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice!

STEPS to HONOR VIDEO! Check it out!

A lot of us have been so busy running and/or walking mileage in honor of our heroes. So busy, in fact, that we haven't been very good about contributing to the blog. We hope that some of you will add your heroes to our blog and help to keep the site new and interesting each day.

In the meantime, please take a few minutes to watch our newest video that honors some of our heroes. To watch the video, go to www.militarymissionsonline.com/videos.htm.

Walking to Remember

I used to run. A lot. Not fast, but a lot. One day, I climbed a set of stairs and realized that my running days would be few and far between. So then, as life will tend to teach you, I learned that it was ok to walk. I have been walking for several years- sometimes for health, sometimes for a size 10 jean, sometimes to re-connect with old friends who also walked (often watching from the sidelines while I ran). But then I found Beth and Military Missions and Steps to Honor and now I walk to remember. Although I don't know as many soldiers, police officers and firefighters as she does, I hope that in doing this, I will meet more. Until then, please forgive me for what may seem like trivial blog posts - honoring the family or the famous. It is my hope and my prayer that this will bring so many more names and stories into my life, just as Beth does with her posts everyday. So, here goes with day 1: 3 miles

Mile 1 is and always will be for my husband, Capt. Neal Miller. A veteran of 2 tours to the Middle East and currently home, serving as Chief Husband, he serves this country because it's what he wants to do. He joined the Army when he was 17, opting out of ROTC and moving up through the ranks at a steady pace. He is modest about his service and dedicated to the greater good. And I am dedicated to him.
Mile 2 is for my father, a retired warrant officer and veteran of the Vietnam War. He served in the Big Red 1 during his deployment and was going to remain in the regular Army - but y'know that's sort of hard on the family life. So, in order to be able to continue serving our country, he joined the National Guard. Thus, I am not an Army brat. But he did set the standard for men in my life: he's honest, hardworking, and believes in what America stands for. He knows that nothing worth having comes easily - so I've chosen a picture of him receiving an award. Heaven knows he's earned it.
Mile 3 is for my grandfather, Elmer "Red" Halcomb. He was a WWII veteran and served our country at the Battle of the Bulge. I looked high and low for a picture of him in uniform, but this is how I remember him anyway. One of the greatest memories I have of him is going to the local VFW on Friday nights and playing pull-tab lottery tickets until the table was littered with scraps and the men had told a hundred stories. He loved the Army, he loved his Army buddies, and he flew a flag outside of his house until the day he died. He loved this country.

On January 24, 2009, three Marines from 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force were struck by a roadside bomb blast during a combat mission in Afghanistan's Farah Province, a growing hotbed of Taliban activity. LCPL Julian T. Brennan (left), 25, of Brooklyn, New York was killed in the explosion. LCPL Kevin T. Preach (right), 21, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, was severely burned and lost both legs and a hand. LCPL Preach died from his wounds on Feb. 7, 2009. To read more about these two men, you can do a google search and you will find several articles that can give you an idea of who these two men were and you will be glad you took a few minutes to get to know them. After all, they made the ultimate sacrifice for you, so spending five minutes learning a little something about them is worth your time.

The third Marine in the truck that day was CPL Kenneth Charles Bowen. Kenny was also severely injured in this IED explosion. Kenny was the squad leader riding in the passenger seat when the armored vehicle was hit by the roadside bomb. He has been recovering at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, since he was brought back to the states four months ago. Kenny is going home to Ann Arbor, Michigan for a visit this weekend. It will be the first time he has left Brooke Army Medical Center and the first time he has been home since the explosion.

If you have been reading this blog, by now you have probably noticed that everyone I’ve honored so far has a personal connection to me in some way. (Once I finish running in honor of everyone I can possibly think of, I will start honoring people that I haven't had the privilege to know, but served for me anyway.) I didn’t know of LCPL Brennan, LCPL Preach, or CPL Kenny Bowen until Saturday evening. I received an email from my good friend, Val. Her son, Chas served with my son during two deployments to Fallujah. I had just sent her our new Military Missions t-shirt. I figured she would want one since the logo features her son....he’s the Marine on the far right if you check out the back side of the shirt! Val loved her new t-shirt and wore it over to her friend, Wendy’s house. Wendy just happens to be mom to Cpl Kenny Bowen. Chas and Kenny grew up together and both ended up serving in the USMC. (By the way, Kenny even called Val to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day yesterday because the two families are just that close!) Wendy is really excited about Kenny coming home and she wanted to order a bunch of our t-shirts....so everyone could wear one when Kenny comes home. (In case you’re wondering why these t-shirts are so appealing, it might be because the front of the shirt says “Freedom Isn’t Free” and the back is pretty awesome too!). Val sent me an email to see if she could get some shirts and told me the story behind her request.

It turns out that Kenny was in the TOW Platoon, which was in the Weapons Company of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. It just so happens that we (Military Missions) has been sending packages to 3 different guys in 3/8 Weapons Co. since they deployed before Christmas in 2008. We were sending unit boxes to these guys because we heard they were in a pretty remote place in Afghanistan and didn’t receive much mail. Now, I have no idea if any of our mail ever reached Brennan, Preach, or Bowen, but I do know that I have been praying for 3/8 daily since I first found out they deployed. Honestly, I’ve been praying for 3/8 for years. My son was attached to 3/8 during part of his first deployment and one of my dearest friends’ son was in 3/8 for two deployments back in 2005-2006. After learning of the connection that Kenny has to Chas (the guy on the right in our logo), and the fact that 3/8 holds a special place in my heart, this situation just became personal too. I actually felt myself overcome with emotion and unable to speak for several minutes. Most anyone that lives in the extended military family can tell you the same type of stories over and over. We love everyone single one of these men and women that are willing to serve and sacrifice for us.

So, even though I didn’t make a long story short today, I did run three miles in honor of three Marines that served for me and for you. If you can find a few minutes, please read up on these heroes and their families. Keep the families of the fallen in your prayers, and keep Kenny and his family in your prayers as he goes through a lot more recovery and healing. My deepest gratitude goes out to families of LCPL Brennan, LCPL Preach, and CPL Bowen. Thank you for raising men willing to stand in the gap for all of us.

Form a STEPS to HONOR Walking or Running Group in your community!

One of our group members at Military Missions had a great idea. Allyson suggested forming groups to walk or run together for STEPS to HONOR. There are a lot of us that prefer exercising with a friend or a group. It keeps us accountable and it's a lot of fun.

We've decided to form a group here in Lexington. We will meet together (details TBA) and walk or run together once a week. We are all going to purchase STEPS to HONOR t-shirts and wear them while we are walking. All participants will be walking to honor the heroes of their choice.

Imagine how many people will start to ask questions when they see your group walking by and everyone is wearing a STEPS to HONOR t-shirt! Your group is sure to catch the attention of people in your community and you can get even more people involved in this awareness program.

Here in Lexington, just like most communities, we have a lot of walks and runs scheduled throughout the summer months. Why not train together for one of the events and then participate as a group (wearing your STEPS to HONOR t-shirts of course!).

Do you have any good suggestions to help us get the word out about STEPS to HONOR? If so, please contact us at steps2honor@gmail.com. We'd love to share them with everyone so we can get people all the way across the country involved.

By the way, our t-shirts arrived yesterday. If you want to purchase one and get things started in your town, go to www.militarymissionsonline.com/stepstohonor.htm.

LexSHOUT Video! Take a peek!

Our LexShout video is up! Take five minutes to hear greetings to our troops from the Bluegrass! Go to www.militarymissionsonline.com!

LEX SHOUT Lexington's Shout Out to the Troops!

In just one month, STEPS to HONOR officially begins. I have a lot to do to get the word out about this awareness program. I have to keep my focus and keep running everyday. Sometimes when I have a lot to do, I want to skip my workout. This program is keeping me accountable. I hope it will do the same for many others and bring about a new awareness of gratitude for those that serve and sacrifice on our behalf.

Before I close, I have to tell you about LexSHOUT - Lexington's Shout Out to the Troops! Several of us at Military Missions got together and put together a greeting for our deployed soldiers. We are sending care packages in May with a theme called "Greetings from the Bluegrass". We hope to send mementos of Kentucky and fill the packages with Kentucky postcards which have personal notes from our fellow Kentuckians. We plan to have our deployed military log onto our website and see our LexSHOUT video. We ran around Lexington yesterday taking crazy pictures at different city landmarks. We also took our video camera along and recorded messages for our troops. If you have an extra 5 minutes, you should watch our video greeting. If you know someone that is deployed, be sure to send them the link. We want all of our deployed troops to know that Kentuckians are grateful for what they are doing for all of us. To see the LexShout video with greetings to our troops, go to www.militarymissionsonline.com. Please share the video with all of your military friends!

Journal Entry - Wed 9/3/08

Each day as I am running, my mind is racing with ideas. I am wondering about all the other people that walk or run on a regular basis. I am thinking that most of these people would enjoy the idea of honoring someone while they exercise. Basically it is all about awareness. We aren’t really aware of what others do for us because it doesn’t seem personal. Let’s say I live in the USA my entire life and never personally know one individual that serves in the military or law enforcement. I could very possibly go through my entire life never once considering that these people serve for me. The wars are usually fought on foreign soil. The crimes happen in someone else’s neighborhood and the fires strike someone else’s homes. Does this mean that none of this service stuff relates to me? I think that is how many people see it. I’ll step out on a limb here and say that many people may think police officers work just so they can catch us speeding and give us a ticket! Have you ever had that type of thought?

Why does something have to be up close and personal in our own lives before we realize it exists? Why do most of us have to benefit from something or have it sneak into our lives through someone else before we actually consider its value? I can recognize this indifference because I am guilty of it myself. I grew up in Northern Virginia. Most of my friends were military kids. Their parents worked at the Pentagon or Ft. Belvoir and they came home from work everyday wearing a uniform. Most of them moved away every three years at which point someone else would move in, enter my circle of friends, and another three year cycle would begin. During these years we were at peace at war against no one. Perhaps that is why it never struck me that military service was any type of sacrifice, or perhaps it was because I was so young and couldn’t see past my own self.

Reality hit me on the head when my oldest son made it clear that he was enlisting in the USMC. He had no interest in my plans for his college education. He has always dreamed of serving in the military and it was assumed that he would attend college first. He was 15 years old when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were hit. It was on that day that his world changed and his plans to join the military took a shorter path. He researched every branch and finally decided that he was best suited to be a US Marine. He spent his 16th year begging us to sign the forms so he could enter the Delayed Entry Program at the age of 17. After much thought, lots of arguing, and even more prayer, the papers were signed and our son was enlisted before his senior year in high school had even begun. He spent his senior year working at the USMC recruiting office. He learned as much as possible to help him be ready for boot camp. He was on the bus to Parris Island, SC one short week after high school graduation. He turned 18 at boot camp, and celebrated his 19th and 20th birthdays while deployed in Fallujah, Iraq. The service and sacrifice of our military was no longer something for “other people”. It was real and it was rocking my world! The day my son got on the bus with his infantry platoon and headed to Iraq for his first deployment was the day that my world was forever changed.

Journal Entry - Monday, September 1, 2008: Today I am running once again for the fallen heroes that were in some way connected to my son. I have decided that I really like this concept of honoring someone and need to start making a list of heroes that I can honor each day. My mind starts to consider the many people that have served in our military over the course of our nation’s history. Imagine the number of men and women that have stood in the gap over the years. What about those that serve willingly that were not called to make the ultimate sacrifice? Shouldn’t we honor them for their service? After getting a small glimpse into what my own son has gone through over the past five years, I realize more each day that military service is difficult and challenging to say the least! Must we wait for one to be injured or killed before we are grateful for their service? We often forget about those that are serving on bases right here in the USA. Once you enter the military, your life is no longer your own. You can’t decide to take a day off, call in sick, or sleep in. You always take a turn spending a major holiday on “Barracks Duty”. The year my son had duty on Christmas Day he told me it was the loneliest Christmas ever! He said he would have preferred to be in Iraq because at least he would have been with his buddies. What about the pressure to make sure you get back from your 96 (4 day weekend) in time to get through the traffic at the main gate and get in line to get your regulation haircut before the barber shop closes? And what about those inspections? I often wonder how I would feel if someone came to my house once a week to do an inspection. Would everything be straight enough or clean enough? Unlikely! I am starting to really appreciate the daily sacrifice made by our military. They really don’t have lives of their own for the time they serve and they are doing that for you and for me!