OKINAWA, Japan - For military kids, what their parents do on a daily basis can be a mystery. To better understand the daily routine of their parents, service members conducted a bring-your-kid-to-train day. The event gave the children a better understanding of what their parents do on a daily basis.
In lieu of April’s Month of the Military Child, family readiness officers from five different regiments and battalions invited service members and their families from their respective units to participate in a Proud to be a Military Child event at Camp Kinser April 6.
“We wanted to put this event together so children would have a better understanding of what their parents do on a day-to-day basis,” said Shanna L. Diep, family readiness officer for Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force. “Seeing the kids smiling and having a good time out here today is what it is all about.”
The event incorporated different aspects of Marine training slightly modified for children. Stations included a bouncy-house obstacle course, tricycle course, water-balloon toss, MCMAP training, tug-of-war competition and low-crawling practice. The event also included a military working dog demonstration from the Provost Marshal’s Office and concluded with certificates for all the participants.
“This was a great opportunity for us to reassure to our kids how important they are,” said Lt. Col. Matthew A. Dumenigo, executive officer of CLR-35. “Service members can be away from their families a lot of the time with traveling and deployments. This event allowed the children to meet new friends and spend time with their parents, which they may not get to do very often, especially on Okinawa.”
More than 150 children with parents from Combat Logistics Regiment 3, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 3rd Supply and Maintenance Battalions, CLR-35 and CLR-37, all part of 3rd MLG, attended the event.
“It was fun to come and see what my dad does every day,” said Joshua Diep, a participant in the event. “My favorite was the martial arts station.”
The Month of the Military Child was established by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger to highlight the important role children play in the military community. The month is now celebrated every year throughout each branch of the armed forces around the world.
Following the event was an Easter egg hunt in which more than 2,200 eggs were scattered across the Camp Kinser commissary’s lawn for the children to find. The hunt was sponsored by Camp Services in conjunction with the FROs.
For more information on upcoming Month of the Military Child events, contact your units family readiness officer.