Battle Ready. We see those two words and think of the endless hours our military spouse puts into field exercises, classes, and pre-deployment training. Its the face and mantra of our military members. They are always ready for the next task, the next battle.
It's not a term you often think to associate with Military Kids. Sure they are tough, and go through a lot, but does that make them battle ready? Military kids meet and move away from more significant people in their lives, than the average adult would, and they experience more before they move out than some people ever will in a life time. Military kids grow up to be adults too, and their experience as military brats really helps round them out.
They are exposed to hundreds of cultures, from different friends at school, to all immersive years in foreign countries. They hear the ever fun saying of "hurry up and wait", learning to be patient and flexible. They know it's not good-bye it's see you later, even when that later seems impossibly far away. They learn new languages, and over the years the most important lesson of its not the house that makes it home. They see their parents take on all sorts of new roles, both in their jobs, and filling in at home when they are apart, learning that we are stronger and more able than we think. And they see us, they see us learn to love from a distance, to care deeply about people who are only associated to us by a career, and to always be ready for the unexpected. They are truly battle ready.
Not all military kids want to join the service or marry a military member (but it happens a lot), but they all get to start out their adult life with experiences and awesome stories to tell. They learned how to handle the difficult times when they were young, and they always know if all else fails they have military family all over to the world to call on. Written by Sabrina Johannes (Executive Director)
Comments