Serving intercontinental joy

In 2004 the Minnesota National Guard was not sure what to think about a group of people from Saint Paul who wanted to serve an intercontinental steak dinner to active duty troops in Kosovo and their families at home. Something like this had never been done in the history of the U.S. military.

Six years and seven missions later, Serving Our Troops has become an important partner of the Minnesota National Guard. Volunteers have helped serve more than 50,000 steaks to active duty troops and their families in Minnesota, Mississippi, Kansas, Kuwait, Iraq, and Kosovo. In the process, Serving Our Troops has helped make Minnesota a national leader in supporting active duty members of the National Guard.

On October 3-4, the Minnesota National Guard found a very special way to show its appreciation for the volunteers who made these missions possible. Members of Serving Our Troops participated in a Civic Leader Orientation program, touring the 134th Airlift Wing operations in the Twin Cities, Camp Ripley in Little Falls, and the 148th Fighter Wing base in Duluth.

The volunteers learned more about the Minnesota National Guard, its facilities, and the people who are serving our country. They also flew in C130 airplanes and Blackhawk helicopters, fired weapons from a tank and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and watched F-16 jets scramble. The slideshow below features pictures from the two-day trip.

Goff & Howard has been a proud supporter of Serving Our Troops since the beginning, and Mike Zipko is one of the founding members. To learn more about the group and to help support what they do, visit www.servingourtroops.com.