Photo By Senior Airman Zachary Nordheim | A banner encourages readers to “Purple Up” for the Month of the Military Child...... read more read more
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According to the Department of Defense, there are more than 1.6 million military-connected children who ultimately face many unique experiences because of their parent’s or parents’ service. To honor these individuals, the DoD designates the month of April as Month of the Military Child. For Team Tyndall and across the DoD, this time highlights the important role that children play within the armed forces community while recognizing their experiences and sacrifices.
To celebrate this month, Tyndall held a proclamation signing, a child sneaker ball, a wave parade at Tyndall Academy, Honor Guard colors and more. Beyond April, the base continues to promote programs, resources and services to support the welfare of military children and teens.
“It’s not just the military parents who serve, it’s also the children who serve as well,” said Mallory Gross, 325th Force Support Squadron school liaison program manager. “Military children don’t volunteer like their parents do; they just tag along with their parents’ career. These kids can move up to every two to four years with some of them going up to six to nine schools. That is why it is important to support them and recognize the sacrifices that they make with being a military-connected child.”
Currently, there are an estimated 2,311 military-connected children who attend schools in Bay County. This number is expected to rise with the increase of personnel at Tyndall in the coming years. Additionally, 18 school districts surrounding Tyndall have been awarded the purple star delegation, a program that supports military-connected children who relocate to new schools due to their family’s change in duty station.
“We have a lot of community support surrounding Tyndall and it’s very important to let that be known and show that the community supports the military,” said Gross. “This year we’ve had local mayors for the first time sign proclamations and write letters in their newsletters recognizing April as the Month of the Military Child and really continue to show that overwhelming support.”
When it comes to representing MOMC, individuals are often told to “Purple Up,” which means to wear and highlight the color purple. Purple references the joint environment of all service branches, including active duty, reserve, national guard and veterans, with signifying the combination of each branch's colors into one. The Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard utilize various shades of blue, the Army uses green and the Marines use red.
“As Tyndall continues to grow in the next three to five years, we’re expecting a lot more military children to arrive,” said Gross. “This is why it’s important to maintain our relationships with the local community and continue having special days and resources to recognize the sacrifices that they make by being a military child.”
To learn more about Tyndall’s School Liaison Program, please visit the following link: https://www.tyndallfss.com/slo.
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2024 14:46 |
| Story ID: | 468756 |
| Location: | TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, FL, US |
| Hometown: | PANAMA CITY, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Tyndall recognizes Month of the Military Child, by SrA Zachary Nordheim, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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