Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley have shown their appreciation to U.S. troops deployed in the Middle East - by inviting dozens of military families to the filming of an upcoming episode of "Hannah Montana."

The "Achy Breaky Heart" hit-maker flew out to visit soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan in December, and was so moved by meeting the men and women on the front line, he decided to give them something back.
 
The singer asked the show's writers to pen an episode of his daughter's hit Disney series in which the families of some of the soldiers could join in the studio fun.  And as a special surprise, the children of soldiers got to record messages to their parents.

Miley Cyrus tells People.com, "My dad has always been super involved with the troops so (the producers) always try to find things that are close to our hearts and that we're really involved in. It's going to be a satellite thing where the troops can see their kids. It's really cool that they're having the opportunity to say hi to a mom or dad they haven't seen in a long time. I think that's the coolest thing."

Her father adds, "This past December I was in Afghanistan and Iraq and that trip inspired the writers to say let's do an episode to say thank you to the troops."

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