BELTON LAKE, Texas — Not only do their active duty parents make sacrifices, military kids also make sacrifices as major components of the armed forces, sometimes missing opportunities to do things they would do if their parent was home.

One program is working to honor them in a very special way, and it starts with a fishing trip. On Thursday, three teenagers woke up to fish at the crack of dawn at Belton Lake. You could call it a father-son pastime. However, Damien Villalobos' dad, SFC Edwin Villalobos, is deployed. 

Damien went fishing with his step brothers and Holding the Line Guide Service owner Bob Maindelle. 

"It's still pretty painful at first,” Damien said. “Dad's gone. He’s going to come back in a week and I'm already feeling the excitement from that.”

Thanks to the Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun (SKIFF) program, Maindelle is able to provide free fishing trips for children whose parents are away due to military duty.

"We've been doing that for about 12 years now and have over that time taken out over 500 kids on either Stillhouse or Belton Lake,” Maindelle said.

Maindelle is a veteran and former military child himself.

“We waited for dad to come back to do the fun stuff. When I was a little kid, that’s when we went fishing. When I was a little kid, that’s when we went to the zoo. When I was a little kid, that’s when we took our vacations. But when dad was gone, those nice to do things, it just didn’t happen,” Maindelle said. “And so knowing that, I wanted to do something a little different for the kids that we have in our Fort Hood community.”

Mom of three, Jennifer Villalobos married SFC Villalobos a year and a half ago.

"It's not fun having him gone. Kids all feel it. We feel it at home,” Jennifer said. 

Mom of four, Juliet Lopez is no longer with SFC Villalobos, but they co-parent. 

“It was important to both Jennifer and I to make sure that the children have that, that bond and interaction, so while he's gone, we’ve been trying to make it as easy as possible,” Lopez explained.

The family is looking forward to Dad's return, thankful for each other and the chance to recognize military kids.

Jennifer said they were excited to send the kids on the fishing trip.

“When Edwin comes back, they can try to get him involved into that same activity. Something new and different,” Jennifer said. 

To find out more about SKIFF, you can contact Maindelle by phone at (254) 368-7411 and by email at Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com.

“There are literally no strings attached,” said Maindelle.