A few words from Andrea

Hello! I would first like to say that Military Missions is a great organization and I am proud to be doing my small part to support our troops.

My name is Andrea and I am a junior at Eastern Kentucky University. I'm studying for a bachelor's degree in criminal justice with a minor in fire safety and engineering technology. My family has always been a huge supporter of the military and there is a long tradition of service on my mother's side of the family, dating back to the Spanish-American War. I plan to carry on this proud tradition when I graduate by enlisting in the Coast Guard. I also plan on joining a local volunteer fire department in the fall.

I've been doing a lot of running lately, so tonight I sat down to make a list of heroes to honor. I had to keep double-checking to make sure I didn't miss anyone. Besides my family members, I know dozens of career and volunteer firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and military personnel. One of my best friends is a decorated Marine and another who made the ultimate sacrifice in 2008. I have a neighbor who is a retired Navy SEAL. I have friends serving overseas and a few in the National Guard. It is both humbling and overwhelming to know so many who do so much for their communities and our country.

I am honored to be surrounded by so many people who devote their lives to something greater than themselves and have core values like duty, honor, service, courage, and integrity. Our military and emergency service personnel are tragically underpaid and underappreciated by the public. Every day, these men and women run toward situations that everyone else is running away from, all the while knowing that this fire or traffic stop or battle could be their last.

God bless everyone in the military and emergency services. You are all heroes. Keep up the good work!

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.

Honoring our Heroes on Independence Day!

Lexington KY STEPS to HONOR Walk - July 4th

Join us as we honor our heroes on July 4th. We plan to walk the two mile “downtown” portion of the Bluegrass 10k as a group. We will wear our STEPS to HONOR t-shirts as well as the STEPS to HONOR running bibs which will display the names of our heroes. (You do NOT need to register for the race to participate with our group.)

If you are participating in the full Bluegrass 10k and would be willing to wear a STEPS to HONOR t-shirt to help us promote our program and honor our heroes, please contact us as soon as possible to purchase a shirt and a running bib. (Shirts are $10, running bibs are free with the purchase of the t-shirt.)

If you are planning to walk with our group on Saturday, July 4th, here are the details you will need to know:
1. Please contact us with your intent to participate by Friday, July 3rd.
2. Plan to purchase your shirt and running bib by Friday, July 3rd.
3. Meet at Thoroughbred Park by the horse statues on Saturday morning by 7:10.
4. The race starts at 7:30 and we will NOT be able to wait for late arrivals.
5. Parking is limited as many streets are closed so allow plenty of time for finding a parking spot.
The route we are walking will start and end at Thoroughbred Park and be 2 to 2.5 miles in length.

Contact us at militarymissions@insightbb.com if you plan to walk with us or if you need to purchase a t-shirt and/or running bib.

IF YOU LIVE IN ANOTHER PART OF THE GREAT USA, PLEASE CONSIDER FORMING A STEPS to HONOR WALK IN YOUR AREA. BE SURE TO TAKE PICS AND TELL US ALL ABOUT IT!

Jeff Jones is an officer for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Division of Police. Jeff received the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association’s Officer of the Month in May 2009. This award is given by the CPAAA, but the officers in each unit vote for the recipient of the award. Officer Jones is currently with the CLEAR unit, and has previously been in patrol and training, and served with the Emergency Response Unit. CLEAR - Community Law Enforcement Action Response Program concentrates officers’ efforts in specific neighborhoods by providing both a permanent day time presence and night patrols. Officer Jones has also served in the US Military. Our family knows Officer Jones as “Mr. Jeff”. He was our youngest son’s Sunday School teacher years ago when our son was about 5 years old. Mr. Jeff has always been one of our favorites. His life is one of service, whether it be on foreign soil with our military, right here in Lexington in law enforcement, or in the church teaching children about Christ. Thanks for your hard work and dedication to serve, Mr. Jeff. We are blessed to know you! It was an honor to run a few miles in honor of someone who gives to the rest of us on a daily basis.

How's it going with your walking group?

We want you to share what is going on with your walking group. Send us an update and a few pictures. Share your ideas and get others involved. Here in Lexington, we have a group that is planning to walk together in the Bluegrass 10k. The event is held every year on July 4th. We plan to walk together as a group wearing our STEPS to HONOR t-shirts. Each week we gather together at a different location in town and walk to prepare for the Bluegrass 10k. It's funny to watch people drive by and stare at us. I guess it looks a bit odd to have a group of people all wearing the same shirt walking on the side of the road! What's the point of all these shirts? People ask questions and then we get to share about our heroes and remind everyone that we all need to be thankful for what these men and women do for us. We'd love to hear what you are doing to honor the heroes in your community. Join our blog or send us an email! By the way, if you are out walking with your family, you need to honor a hero at the same time.

The Unsung Heroes

Serving in Special Forces is one job that we all consider fascinating. The main reason we feel this way is because we don’t really know a lot about what these people do. Very few are selected to train for these elite jobs. Even fewer complete the training successfully. Once placed on a Special Forces team, individuals continue to train in highly specialized areas, often for years. If these people are not deployed, they are training. High expectations are placed upon them at all times. Most of what they do is highly classified and they are not allowed to divulge what they are doing or where they are doing it. Even their family members don’t know what they are doing or where they are serving. It is stressful enough to have a loved one deployed, but imagine not even knowing where they are or what they are doing. Did you know that most of these heroes won’t receive awards they’ve earned? Because of the highly classified nature of their work, they can’t divulge any information about their work. Recognition for awards earned can’t be given because in doing so, classified information would be revealed. One of the most difficult things for me to do is keep a secret. I can’t imagine doing something really challenging and patriotic and then having to keep it to myself....forever! It takes a person with a lot of integrity and a lot of self-control to keep our nation’s secrets safe. I ran in honor of all those that serve in all branches of our Special Forces during this past week. Thank you for all you do. You are the true unsung heroes. We don’t know what you do, but we are sure glad you do it. Thanks for defending our freedom and keeping us safe from harm.