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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (April 2, 2019) – In 1986, then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinburger established the Month of the Military Child to honor the hardships faced by American military children around the world.
Aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), many Sailors acknowledge the sacrifices made by their own children, but some Sailors are themselves children of a military families. A former military child is Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Adrian Ayala, from Houston , a system administrator for the automated data processing division aboard George Washington.
Ayala’s father served in the Army for 21 years as a combat engineer, paratrooper, and a crew chief on a Blackhawk helicopter.
“I moved from Texas to North Carolina, then Hawaii, and then Germany,” said Ayala “I spent most of my time growing up in Germany.”
Ayala said that moving overseas was very different than what he was used to.
“Germany was a huge culture shock for me,” said Ayala. “The high school I went to was on base, so everyone there was American. I spent a lot of time on and around base because it felt more like America.”
Moving around wasn’t the only difficulty growing up.
“My dad being in the Army meant he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan a lot,” said Ayala. “It was pretty scary, but even more than that it was tough not having him around.”
Ayala said he did gain a lot from growing up as a military child.
“It prepared me better for real life,” said Ayala. “Someone won’t always be there to hold your hand and guide you through life. It taught me how to be independent.”
Like Ayala, Berty Dezzani, a marriage and family therapist at Fleet and Family Support Center – Newport News, said that military children face hardships different from an average child.
“I think because of the military’s interface with difficult world situations, children have to face additional fears and concerns for their parents’ well-being,” said Dezzani. “The children often have much more maturity at younger ages, because they have to face these things.”
These children also develop crucial skills because of these hardships, said Dezzani.
“Military children are incredibly resilient because they have to be,” said Dezzani. “There’s this incredible adaptability that children of military families are expected to possess by the nature of their parents’ occupations. Military children are forced to develop social skills beyond those of their peers in order to continue progressing through school.”
Dezzani also said that it is critical for parents to acknowledge the stressors and sacrifices their children make.
“It’s also important to do everything in your power to support your child,” said Dezzani. “Tell them that you’re there if they need you, that you can help them or find them help if they need it, and most importantly, to just listen to them.”
Although parents can show their appreciation for their children at home on a daily basis, various organizations celebrate April as the Month of the Military Child, said Dezzani.
“Oftentimes schools in the area host celebratory luncheons for the Month of the Military Child, and I think it’s very important that the parent go to that if possible,” said Dezzani.
For more information about the Month of the Military Child, check out the Department of Defense Education Activity website at https://www.dodea.edu/dodeaCelebrates/Military-Child-Month.cfm.
Join the conversation with GW online at www.facebook.com/USSGW and www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73. For more news from USS George Washington, visit www. Navy.mil/local/cvn73/.
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2019 14:01 |
| Story ID: | 317391 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sacrifices: The Month of the Military Child, by SN Jack Lepien, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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