Deployment can be one of the most stressful junctures of any military career. Kids can view the process with confusion and fear as parents are suddenly gone or households uprooted.
Operation K.U.D.O.S. (Kids Understanding Deployment Operations) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Friday was meant to clear away that fear while having some fun.
The event in a Wright-Patterson flightline hangar offered activities that mimic a bit of what adults go through as they prepare for new duty stations, often overseas in harm's way. Often with parents in tow, they visited stations that offered physical fitness routines, first aid and other kinds of training, getting a look at gear and training regimens.
Col. Dustin Richards, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson, has deployed four times in his career, once with his two young daughters accompanying him and his wife.
"They know that I go to work and I wear the uniform every day, that I'm in the Air Force, that we take care of the base," Richards said. "And then they know that sometimes you have to go and deploy and do whatever the mission is downrange."
Military children are often supremely adaptable. They've seen it all, Richards noted.
"They're ready for these deployments and then when we're gone, we have a lot of resources here to help take care of the families," Richards said.
Operation K.U.D.O.S. was designed to host up to 50 military families, focusing on children tied to any service branch, mostly between the ages of 4 and 12.
The stations children visited in the six-hour event included experiences in medical care, security work, firefighting and a lot more. Every big military installation can be seen as a small — in some cases, not-so-small — city.
There was a lot for families to see.
"I think it's really good because it gives them the opportunity to see the things on base, because where I work, they're really not allowed," said First Sgt. Cheyenne Cuccia as her four-year-old son, Emmett, clambered on a Humvee vehicle.
At another station, children were guided through dragging a medical manikin before administering emergency first aid.
And Sebastian Breding, 5, could be seen navigating an obstacle course, hefting a heavy medicine ball at the end.
Miranda Aguirre, mother of nine-year-old Jose, thought it was time well spent.
"He really enjoyed it last year," she said of her son. "He wanted to go do it again this year, so I went ahead and scheduled him."
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