TINKER AIR FORCE BASE. Okla. -- The assignment was straightforward. Cover the Kids Understanding Deployment Operations event, capture some photos, tell the story. Standard public affairs work for a Saturday morning.
KUDOS, hosted by the Military and Family Readiness Center and Youth Programs, welcomed children of service members for a full-day, hands-on deployment simulation. The event was designed to give children of service members a sense of what their mom or dad, sometimes both parents, experience when duty calls them away from home.
On the surface, it was a well-organized community event. Beneath it was something much more impactful.
It started with a mission brief by various base leaders, delivered in a family-friendly format that outlined the day ahead. They highlighted important, but familiar, information I’ve heard countless times in my 13 years of service, so business as usual continued.
From the briefing room, we moved into a warehouse, and that’s where the energy shifted.
Behind those doors, dozens of Airmen and civilian volunteers had been quietly preparing. In addition to the 20 or so I had already met, an entire cadre of dedicated people was staged and ready. The 15 or so children in my chalk, Chalk Three, ranged from about 7 to 14 years old. They moved through a processing line with the kind of calm confidence only a military child could have in such an environment. After picking up their "orders," they received "vaccinations” a couple pieces of candy in tiny paper cups, before being trying on gas masks and getting their KUDOS dog tags.
Then the warehouse doors rolled open. Parked outside, two camouflage-painted military vehicles waited to transport the “deploying members” to a specially built deployment experience. It was time to say goodbye to the ones you love and go into an unknown experience with nothing but unfamiliar faces around you.
The first stop was the flight line for a Security Forces K-9 demonstration. There is an unspoken truth in the military: even the most seasoned service members never get tired of watching military working dog teams operate. The raw capability on display showcases discipline and precision, and the bond between handler and K-9 never loses its effect. The outward joy on the faces of the children in Chalk Three was something I recognized immediately.
It was the same feeling many of us still carry and get to experience from time to time when we find ourselves doing something the kid version of us would have never believed… when we realize we’ve grown up to be someone we might have looked up to. More importantly, we are reminded of just how significant this institution is, and the extraordinary people who keep it running.
From the flight line, we moved into the adjacent aircraft hangar. The children immediately tackled an obstacle course as a nod to military physical fitness expectations. There were volunteers helping kids get into military gear, participate in group physical training and put on camo face paint and more.
At the conclusion of their "deployment," the chalks arrived to a welcome ceremony. Family members were waiting with handmade signs and open arms. Col. Cisco Harris, Tinker Installation and 72nd Air Base Wing commander, was also there, ready to high-five kids as they returned and to celebrate with families.
Like Harris said during his mission brief at the start of the day, “you know you’re part of the military, too, right? Your support means the world to your mom or dad.” As he said this, the children nodded with gleeful smiles. So did the parents and volunteers, but their smiles carried more of a heavy appreciation. Harris wrapped up his brief by stating, “we do our best to take care of our deployers, so at the end of the day, we’re going to welcome you home with some time to enjoy and some fun!”
And there he was, waiting for his troops to arrive with the enthusiasm and excitement we often take for granted coming from someone carrying so much responsibility.
The service members standing nearby, and the volunteers who had given their Saturday to this event, have likely deployed at some point in their lives. Watching the signs rise and the arms open wide, my appreciation for this event began to deepen. They had just spent a single day waiting for a loved one to come back to them.
KUDOS spent one Saturday showing military children that their sacrifices matter. On a micro scale, many of those individuals who have previously deployed were experiencing the other side of the coin. For a few hours, they missed their family member and wondered what they were doing or whether they were safe. One parent asked me if I knew where their child’s chalk was because they were running late and might miss a graduation.
Seeing that glimpse of role reversal gave me a perspective I’d often considered but have never had to experience myself: the ones waiting. The ones who sacrifice the life they know to support the life we signed up for. The ones who show up when we miss graduations, birthdays, holidays and anniversaries.
Food, games and community organizations, from on and off base, served as another reminder of what we proudly wear the uniform in support of.
When the hard days come too close together and the sacrifices feel heavier than the rewards, it can be easy to lose sight of why you signed on in the first place. But this event was a reminder.
When we raised our right hands and swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, we accepted something that goes beyond a job description. We accepted a responsibility to stand between the people we love and the threats they should never have to face. We accepted hard days because we understood they were part of something worth protecting.
KUDOS reminded me of that. Not through a speech or a slideshow, but through the unfiltered reactions of children who spent one Saturday walking a mile in a parent's boots, and through the service members who spent that same Saturday quietly experiencing what it feels like to be on the other side of the wait.