Shiny black boots. Crisp, olive green uniform. Medals in a rainbow of colors. Sparkling gold bars and buttons. The professionalism and discipline of a dedicated soldier.

Despite 13 years of military service, Maj. Andy Jordan views himself differently than one might think. “Let me get one thing straight: I am not a hero,” Jordan said. “But I have had the opportunity and have been blessed to serve in the company of heroes.” To Jordan, the heroes are his fellow soldiers, especially his friends, who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

“Everything I do, I do for men such as these,” Jordan said. A former soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division and an elite Green Beret of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Jordan has defended the red, white and blue in Kosovo and Iraq. While serving in Iraq, he earned two Bronze Stars, a leader among his fellow soldiers. His current assignment is as an unconventional warfare instructor.

Jordan’s leadership training, however, began when he donned a blue and gold jacket as a member of the Dewey FFA. “The years I spent in the Dewey FFA were the most memorable and valuable time in my life,” he said. “The FFA gave me a competitive spirit and my first taste of leadership.”

He said he joined the FFA because his father and his uncles had been members. “As a child, I wanted to emulate them,” Jordan said. “I wanted to show livestock. It was not until I joined FFA that I became deeply involved in public speaking and the leadership opportunities the FFA has to offer. These are [the activities] that have a lasting impact on the members that take advantage of these opportunities.”

Through FFA, Jordan also developed his supervised agricultural experience program to 200 commercial sows and showed primarily crossbred swine. “Andy was very involved and very caring,” said Cecil Allison, Jordan’s agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor. “Andy always had a smile on his face. He was willing to share with other students in any way he could.”

Jordan’s SAE and his leadership involvement earned him the Northeast District Star Farmer award in 1994. “My experiences in the FFA turned into the values and commitments I use daily,” Jordan said.

He also was elected to serve as the 1994-95 Oklahoma FFA Association Northeast District Vice President. “As a state officer, I talked to members every chance I got about goals,” he said. “When you set a goal, you need to risk everything to achieve that goal and make it a reality.”

As a state officer, Jordan attended Oklahoma State University and joined ROTC as a freshman. He said he never intended to make a career of the military.

“Being a former Eagle Scout, I had learned early on that service to one’s nation is a debt we all owe,” Jordan said. “Whether you serve as a member of the armed forces, public service or mold the minds of our children as a teacher, giving something back is very important. I had the opportunity to leave the service shortly before 9/11, but I am grateful today that I remained.”

At age 32, Jordan has moved 10 times in the past 10 years. His family – his wife, Susan, and his sons, Austin, 8, and Andrew, 4 – move with him as duty calls, which for now is at Fort Bragg, N.C.

“I knew if he stayed in the military he would go up,” Allison said. “He and Fred [his older brother] stood head and shoulders above the rest of the students. Andy is a good leader.”

As a leader, Jordan is passionate about his fellow soldiers who often “stand in tattered uniforms and muddy boots” to defend freedom. “They stand at freedom’s gate at the worst of times, and they say to each one of us, ‘nothing will hurt you, nothing will harm you, not tonight, and not on my watch.’”

Andy Jordan, like all U.S. military personnel, provides the highest level of service to this country: the willingness to protect it against all enemies. That, and all that he represents, makes him a hero.