Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Rivera | YOKOSUKA, Japan (April 3, 2023) – Musician 3rd Class, Kevin Clancy performs a song...... read more read more
YOKOSUKA, Japan (April 14, 2023) - The life of a military child is one of constant change. In addition to the typical stressors of growing up, adding the military into the picture brings a unique set of challenges, including separation during deployment and being relocated across the country – or even the world.
Underscoring military children's important role in the armed forces community, April is designated as the Month of the Military Child. The Month of the Military Child is a time to applaud military families and their children for their daily sacrifices and the challenges they overcome. It was introduced in 1986 by former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger to recognize the people that play an unseen part in the lives of service members - children.
Being a military child means always having to adjust and adapt to various changes, which is not an easy task. Supporting children during these challenges begins with paying close attention to their behavior and emotions while connecting them to available resources when needed. Helping them realize what they are feeling while providing a supportive environment will allow them to share those feelings more comfortably. Talking about those feelings openly is a critical first step toward wellness and resilience.
Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) elementary school’s assistant principal Bryan English speaks on the celebration, “It's not easy to move every 2-3 years, leaving friends just to start anew, and we understand that this atypical lifestyle can be hard on our children. We celebrate the sacrifices our children must make and recognize the resilience and social adaptability of our students every day.”
To celebrate Month of the Military Child, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) communities worldwide encourage schools to plan special events to honor military children and incorporate messaging around the Month of the Military Child into their faculty and students’ everyday activities. These efforts and special events will stress the importance of providing children with quality services and support to help them succeed in the mobile military lifestyle.
CFAY and DoDEA held a ceremony to kick off celebrations for the Month of the Military Child at Sullivans Elementary School. CFAY Capt. Les Sobol told the students and educators at the ceremony, "Children of the military have a lifestyle atypical of most other children, frequently contending with parental separation due to deployments, the dynamics, and challenges of reintegration, constantly relocating, an almost endless flow of friendships and everyday reminders that come with the hazards of their parent's service. It is significant to celebrate and recognize the resilience of the military child because, despite the disadvantages for them, they are an integral part of the military culture and in sustaining the longevity of duty for many of our service members. Our military children provide joy, purpose, and overall lend to the health and welfare of the military family and our nation’s fighting forces.”
For 75 years, CFAY has provided, maintained, and operated base facilities and services in support of the U.S. 7th Fleet's forward-deployed naval forces, tenant commands, and thousands of military and civilian personnel and their families.
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2023 19:51 |
| Story ID: | 443190 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Month of the Military Child - in Recognition of Resilience, by PO2 Erik Rivera, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
