Life on a Military Base

Military brats are often compared to a dandelion: Military children bloom everywhere the winds carry them. They are hardy, resilient, and upright. Their roots are strong, cultivated deeply in the culture of the military, planted swiftly and surely. And, ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands, and new friends (Lockhart, 2005).

After a few years of going to church with his family fervently on Sundays, fourteen year old Sam lost his father, which later on would describe as “Only one for passion, a military life” .

Kaplow, J. B., Layne, C. M., Saltzman, W. R., Cozza, S. J., & Pynoos, R. S. (2013). Using Multidimensional Grief Theory to Explore the Effects of Deployment, Reintegration, and Death on Military Youth and Families. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev, 16(3), 322-340. doi:10.1007/s10567-013-0143-1

Is it too farfetched that children of military personnel have their own subculture? Military Brats are children of active military personal that move don’t have a set home they live in. They are actively moving from state to state and from country to country. Despite this sounding like this sound like someone who just moves around a lot, there is a whole lot more to Military Brats. Military Brats are in fact, a subculture that have a real presence in our society and have their own struggles they face as individuals.

Military life can be a big amount of stress for children. There is multiple deployments where they go through long separations from their parents. Children even could experience a parent getting injured or possibly a death. That all is the reality for children who has a parent in the active duty military(website 1). There is such a huge impact on children’s mental health and high rates of trauma from them experiencing their parents going on deployments. More than two million American children have had a parent deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. At least 19,000 children have had a parent wounded in action and over 2,200 children have lost a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan(website 1). After all of this occurring in their lives, it then causes a huge change in the child. These changes are lashing out in anger, changes in school performance,

A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that children from military families have a higher risk of social, emotional and behavioral problems such as anxiety, depression and suicide ideation. Other reports have shown that military families also have a high rates of domestic violence, child abuse and spousal abuse. The immense strains and pressures of the military lifestyle create inconsistencies in the lives of military families that are often overlooked by those considering joining the military. Over the years the U.S government and other organizations have been doing ample research into family health in the military and effectively identifying and addressing critical issues that are faced by military families. Speaking from

mother was a commanding officer which made me and my siblings labeled “military brat” The

As Joe talked about working in the hospital, he never took his eyes off of his grandson, who was asking the questions, and pleading for the answers. His voice was always firm and steady, until he spoke about the victims of the Battle of the Bulge. Then Joe’s eyes teared up, and his steady voice began to waver. Just talking to Joe, you could almost hear, see and smell what he

The author experienced the culture shock all new recruits receive during their initial basic training. James’s physical conditioning prior to enlisting into the Army proved to be a valuable asset, due to the physically demanding rigors associated with military training. The author’s physical presence and life experiences equated to admiration from the younger recruits. Affectionate memories were made teaching the younger recruits exercises and submission holds during down time from training. It was at this point in the author’s life that he knew he wanted a profession in which he could help others. Upon completion of Basic Training, and Advanced Individual training, James saw his parents again, whom he had not seen in several years. The author was pleased to see his ever loving mother who was radiating in pride of her son’s life journey thus far. The author’s father stated that it was about time his son had done something worth meaning. During James’s adolescence this comment may have

“It has been so long ago I can hardly remember any experiences, what I can remember is thinking my youth was being left behind” Mr. Johnson replied after being asked to describe his experiences at Navy boot camp. He also stated that he learned very quickly to take care of himself, and was given a lot more responsibility than he was accustomed to in previous years. He believes that is aspect of youth and responsibility makes the military such a good option for young adults. It leaves the parents behind from a reliance standpoint and gives members the tools to succeed and be responsible in so many various

“A common saying in the military is that when one person joins, the whole family serves” (Alfano, 2016, p. ).

At the core of every Soldier or Veteran is a family that is influenced by their service. Nowhere is more evident of this service and sacrifice, than

Henceforth, after all of the formalities and introductions were made everyone piled into the limo and they traveled in silence to the Wall and they walked together down the length of it, stopping at the names of the men they knew and giving a silent prayer for each one of them. It was when Jackson stopped in front of one name in particular and put his right hand on the gleaming black wall next to it before bowing his head everyone stopped and the raw emotion could be felt and seen on Jackson’s face. Jackie recognized the name beside his hand and placed her hand on his shoulder just ahead of Mangus placing his hand beside hers because the name next to his hand was James D. MacKenzie Jr., Jackson’s older brother. So everyone backed off to allow Jackson to have his private moment with his brother and the two people he was the closest to, Jackie and Mangus. Even when Jackson went down on one knee to light a candle in front of the panel, not only in remembrance of his brother, but of all the men he served with in Vietnam who never came home, their hands remained.

Cozza, C. S., & Lerner, R. M. (2013). Military Children and Families: Introducing the Issue. The Future of Children, 23(2), 3-11. doi:10.1353/foc.2013.0016

An article titled "How Deployment Stress Affects Children and Families: Research Findings" estimated that “by the end of 2008, 1.7 million American Service Members had served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).” Each person is different. They experience and interpret situations unique to their personality that varies depending on the person, but war produces the same problems for members of the nuclear family. War creates a cloud of worry and anxiety. “Parents of [military personnel] often have misgivings (Lediaev).” These reservations and