ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- Dozens of children filled the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell auditorium April 17 to attend a “pre-deployment” briefing at Ellsworth Air Force Base. The briefing, along with various other activities, was part of the Kid’s Deployment Line event hosted by the Airman and Family Readiness Center.
April is recgnized as the Month of the Military Child and celebrates the resilience and strength of kids who live a different life than many of their peers. Military children tend to move every few years -- attend new schools, make new friends and adjust to new cultures.
The Kid’s Deployment Line is an event that allows military children to see what it’s like to go through a deployment line, much like their parents would.
Approximately 120 children went through a PDF line, received a briefing and then deployed to the sterile room. They interacted with security forces, watched a military working dog demonstration, tried on aircrew flight equipment and more.
“While the children are ‘deploying,’ the parents and families make welcome signs and then welcome them home from ‘deployment,’” said Brandy Wyatt, the AFRC flight chief. “The purpose is for children to get experience ‘leaving’ on a deployment and getting welcomed home.”
The children received a t-shirt, backpack, and goodies at each stop along the PDF line. They also gained a better understanding of the deployment process and what it’s like to walk in their parents’ shoes.
(Editor’s note: COVID-19 safety measures were observed for this event.)