Dept of Defense Photo Essay: Troops Reunite with Families

The Department of Defense has created a special section on their website in support of April as the Month of the Military Child.

While the entire site is wonderful, I was particularly touched to see the photo essays of troops returning home to their families and of our nation's military children.

As someone who has waited for their father to return from deployments throughout her life - to war zones and to not - I think they did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of the emotional reunion.

It's a day that military families hope and dream about - long before the military member even leaves. The families' faces and the look on the faces of those children, are so powerful.

Many thanks to the Department of Defense for shining a spotlight on military children and for showing beautiful moments.

*family with heart image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com*

2011 Military Child of the Year Award

On April 7th, five well deserving children received the Military Child of the Year Award from First Lady Michelle Obama at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

The awards were given to outstanding military children from each branch of the military. Mrs. Obama discussed each of the award winners and their individual accomplishments. Click here to learn more about them.

I was impressed with each and everyone one of them, especially those who have focused their efforts on educating civilians about military issues and lifestyles, but not at all surprised at their efforts. They are military brats after all - - - they're made of amazing stuff.

Three cheers for all of them and for all of the military children stationed throughout the world!!

White House Discusses Importance of the Military Child

I'm so very happy to see that the government and the nation are taking time to recognize military children in America. According to the Dept of Defense, there are 1.7 million American children and youth under 18 with a parent serving in the military and about 900,000 with one or both parents deployed multiple times.

Here's a fantastic video from First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden on the importance of the military child.

Month of the Military Child

I feel like I find a way to work in the fact that I'm a military brat into every post I write. It's in my Twitter bio and my LinkedIn profile. There's an entire section of my Facebook profile dedicated to it. And most importantly, it's in every breath I take.

Being a military brat is a great deal of who I am and even though I'm no longer a child, it's one of the things I work into a conversation when I'm first meeting someone. It's been who I am for as long as I can remember and it sums up my childhood so phenomenally, that it's hard to not use it as my primary identifier.

April is the month of the military child. I don't know when it started, but I'm ever so thankful that it has. When I was growing up, my friends and I used to joke with our parents about how we've "served" too. I remember my father laughing and saying, sure you do kid. But it's true . . . we do. We're shipped off with their boots every two to three years. We represent America every where we go, especially overseas, and our lives are also controlled by the government. We're there waiting for them to return home when they deploy. Yes, we do serve too.

For the record, those were the best years of my life and they are the ones that defined who I am. I'd gladly do it again and then again. It was a great honor to be a military brat and even though I'm no longer a child, I know that deep inside I will always be a military child.

If you know a military child, take time to honor them this month. Even a small thank you - just two simple words - can mean so very much. They sacrifice so much every day, alongside their military parents. Without them, the troops could not do what they do.

To all the military brats out there past, present and future we will forever be united. While the nation honors you this month, we will honor you always.