FORT HOOD, Texas — Humidity and Christmas music filled the air at Hood Stadium Friday during the Trees for Troops event which had soldiers waiting in line beginning at 7:15 a.m.

Trees for Troops provides free Christmas trees during the first weekend of December. Created by the Christmas Spirit Foundation, Trees for Troops has delivered more than 225,000 live Christmas trees to servicemen and women throughout the world. All the trees are grown on tree farms and donated by more than 800 different tree farmers.

The organization donated 940 trees to Fort Hood soldiers and families this year.  The trees are provided, first-come-first-serve, to troops in the ranks of E-1 to E-4 first. If they aren’t all taken, it is opened to E-5 and above.

“This is the least we can do for our Soldiers who protect us everyday, giving them something back to help them celebrate the Christmas season,” Monty Campbell, sports specialist with the Fort Hood Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare & Recreation.

This year’s trees were all tagged with a personal message through the FedEx Tag-a-Tree campaign. They asked people using social media platforms to use #TreesforTroops to send a message to the troops receiving a tree, adding a personal touch to each delivery.

Spc. Christian Thorpe, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, smiles alongside his wife Lisa and their baby Tristan during the Trees for Troops event at Hood Stadium Dec. 10. (U.S. Army photo by Brandy Cruz, Fort Hood Public Affairs.)
Spc. Rafael Sanchez, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, smiles as he selects his Christmas tree during the Trees for Troops event at Hood Stadium Dec. 10. (U.S. Army photo by Brandy Cruz, Fort Hood Public Affairs.)
Spc. Ethan Owens, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, carries a freshly cut Christmas tree to his car, Dec. 10 during the Trees for Troops event at Hood Stadium. (U.S. Army photo by Brandy Cruz, Fort Hood Public Affairs.)