Running in remembrance

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba –Navy chief petty officers and chief petty officer selectees assigned to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and Joint Task Force Guantanamo run in formation while participating in the third annual 9.11-mile Freedom Run at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Sept. 11, 2010. Commemorating the 9-11 attacks, the Freedom Run is sponsored by the We Do Care organization in Barrington, Ill. This year, in addition to the runners in Barrington and Guantanamo, runners from Eskan Village, Saudi Arabia; Chievres, Belgium; and Grafenwoehr, Germany, also participated.
(JTF Guantanamo photos by:
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth)
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Story by Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shane Arrington
JTF Guantanamo Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (September 11, 2010) -While many people take the opportunity to sleep in Saturday morning, more than 300 runners and volunteers gathered at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s Windmill Beach to participate in the third annual 9.11-mile Freedom Run, Sept. 11.
We Do Care, based in Barrington, Ill., sponsors the run. Dirk Beveridge, We Do Care founder and president, made his idea of a Freedom Run a reality after a visit to Guantanamo Bay in April 2008. At that time, Army Gen. Gregory Zanetti was deputy commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo.
“As I discussed the idea with Gen. Zanetti and Capt. Kleinman, who were stationed at Gitmo at the time, they thought it would be a good event for the Troopers,” Beveridge said. “We are honored to be partnering with Joint Task Force Guantanamo for the third straight year.”
The original run involved Guantanamo and Barrington, Ill., but it has expanded over the years. This year, in addition to the original locations, the Freedom Run took place in Eskan Village, Saudi Arabia; Grafenwoehr, Germany; and Chievres, Belgium.
Runner Army First Sgt. Michael Baker of the 193rd Military Police Company said, “I think this is an important date to remember for all soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and all Americans in general. Getting us together for this great day, 9-11, to remember those that lost their lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, but also that lost their lives fighting the terrorists, so it would never happen again, in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
We Do Care President Beveridge said the combination of the main run in Barrington and the “shadow runs” on military bases benefits service members by giving them a fun and meaningful event to participate in while reflecting on the past. He said it also helps those in the  United States to feel connected to those deployed around the world.
This Freedom Run is special because it is the first one to be held on Sept. 11.
“Holding the event on the weekend of Sept. 11 also gives us all a chance to stop, pause and reflect on why our military has been called to fight our current wars, and to remember those who perished on Sept. 11, 2001 and in the Global War on Terrorism,” Beveridge said.
The JTF Public Affairs Office has hosted Guantanamo’s Freedom Run the past three years, but setting up the run and after-run barbecue would be impossible without the help of dedicated volunteers.
Army Lt. Col. Patricia Charles, a volunteer, said, “It is a worthy cause. It shows that we have not forgotten our fallen soldiers from 9-11 and those that continue to fight for our freedom.”
So far, each Freedom Run has been larger than the last. Beveridge said We Do Care’s goal for next year is to have over 10,000 runners around the world running on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

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