Spreading Broncos Spirit

Hey, Broncos fans!

During the bye week, six of your Denver Broncos Cheerleaders were lucky enough to go on an Armed Forces Entertainment tour. This is a trip to boost the morale of our troops and their families who are based overseas and need a little bit of America brought to them.

Brianne, Serita, Nicole, Tara, Candace and I traveled around the Mediterranean visiting American bases and embassies in five different countries. Fifteen days later and with 19 commercial flights under our belts, we are back in Denver.

I am very excited to share our experience with you.

We started our amazing journey at a NATO base in Greece. With less than 10 American families at this based they were thrilled to see a small piece of home. Next, we found our way through three different cities throughout Turkey. We flew through Istanbul, than to the cities of Izmir, Ankara, and Adana. Turkey was by far my favorite, a country rich with history and a touch of modernity.

After Turkey we headed to Cairo, Egypt. This was one of the craziest places I’ve ever seen. People, cars, and garbage everywhere, but a beautiful place nonetheless. Then off to Amman, Jordan, a city with landscapes that took our breath away. Last but not least we made it to Germany. Whether we were at an air force base that was as big as a small city, an American compound, or an American Embassy set in the middle of a major city, we felt extreme love and gratitude from every single person who came out to see us.

At every location we did a meet and greet, signed autographs, and were able to form great relationships. It was so amazing to have our troops so open and eager to share their stories of their experiences, families and what they plan on accomplishing in their futures. All of us cheerleaders were on this tour to show our gratitude for what they do for us, and I hope we showed them how much they mean to us.

Something that stuck out to me was a strong sense of community that had formed between the people stationed at every place we went. Whether they were from different parts of the U.S., had dissimilar backgrounds and beliefs, or were in the service or just there as a civilian, everyone was there to support one another.

During the kids’ clinics we held, we noticed the kindness the children had towards each other. They were so happy to be where they were and to have the friends they have. Some of our meet and greets were held during the weekly “night out”. Everyone looks forward to the time they can get together and enjoy the company of the friendships they have formed. Whether they were new to the base or had already been there for two years, everyone was family.

The entire tour opened my eyes to how much our troops and their families sacrifice for the safety of our country. Sometimes while living our everyday lives I think we forget how much they do. From this day on I will never go a day without thinking or praying for our men and women overseas. The Soldiers who we met in route to Afghanistan/Iraq, the people who are preparing for their deployment, and the families who move across the world to serve our nation. We will never forget what you do and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

- Allyson
11/30/2010

Below are some photos from the trip: