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    Children's Mock Deployment: Explaining parents role in national security

    AUSTIN, TEXAS, TX, UNITED STATES

    09.09.2016

    Story by Michelle Mcbride 

    Texas Military Department

    Kids may not know what it means, but they know that everyone is worried. What does deployed mean and where are the soldiers going?
    For only the second time in recent years, Heidi Bearden, the Airman and family readiness program manager with the Texas Air National Guard 136th Airlift Wing, and fellow volunteers will help answer this question. Children of service members in the wing, ages 5-12, will be walked through a mock deployment as part of a national program called KUDOS, or Kids Understanding Deployment Operations.
    The process is scheduled to start with the kids receiving a phone call the night before detailing the time to report, what to bring and when to report.
    “Saturday morning they will line up in front of the wing building where they will meet their Troop Commander, who will be responsible for walking them through all the deployment stations,” said Bearden
    Deployment stations will be set up throughout the wing and are scheduled to include multiple static displays of aircraft and equipment, a processing line in which they will receive an ID card and complete a power of attorney. Then they will visit supply and be issued a cinch bag.
    “This event is about the kids having fun but also providing them an outlet to learn more about what their guard parent does, how the unit works and to provide opportunities to build resiliency if their parent ever deploys,” said Bearden. “They have a much better understanding and appreciate for what their parent does for the one drill weekend every month and for TDYs as well as deployments.”
    During the event there is also a briefing scheduled as well as hands-on opportunities with various equipment including battle gear, chemical gear and parachutes.
    “This event gives the children of our unit a glimpse at what their parent experiences while getting ready to deploy,” said Bearden. “Additionally, it provides networking opportunities for our kids to meet
    others who are in guard families and have similar experiences to share.”
    The wing hosted this event one other time in 2009 and had approximately 100 children participate. While the event is mainly for the children, the parents got a lot out of the experience as well and the positive feedback poured in from both the children and the parents.
    “The children got very excited about role playing as airmen, going through the deployment line, putting on face paint, donning the MOPP gear and finally coming back to loving arms as the band played a homecoming finale,” said Senior Master Sgt. Elizabeth Gilbert, 136th Airlift wing public affairs superintendant. “To them it was all child's play and they had fun. I feel in the end, they have a greater understanding of what their parent goes through to deploy.”
    For more information regarding this and future events, please contact the Airman and Family Readiness office at 817-852-3558.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 09.09.2016
    Date Posted: 10.25.2016 15:40
    Story ID: 212886
    Location: AUSTIN, TEXAS, TX, US

    Web Views: 21
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN