News>Children learn to cope during deployment support camp
Photos
Children sing to their parents July 15, 2011, during the With You All the Way deployment support camp sponsored by the 52nd Force Support Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The camp was held to help children navigate the many unique situations faced before, during and after a parent’s deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Brittney Frees)
Trevor Romain, a Public Broadcasting Service children's series host, talks with children July 13, 2011, showing them some of the items they will receive while attending the With You All the Way deployment support camp sponsored by the 52nd Force Support Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The camp was held to help children navigate the many unique situations faced before, during and after a parent’s deployment. Romain was the host of the camp. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Matthew B. Fredericks)
by Senior Airman Nathanael Callon
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
7/22/2011 - SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) -- Children here attended the "With You All The Way" camp July 13 through 15.
The three-day camp, hosted by Trevor Romain, a Public Broadcasting Service children's series host, taught children to express and manage their feelings regarding their parents' deployments and the stresses of being a military child.
"We created an animated video called 'With You All The Way,' and in the video, there are children who have deployed parents, brothers and sisters," Romain said.
In addition to the video, children were given a deployment kit containing a journal, a teddy bear named Cuzzie, post cards, dog tags and a caregiver's booklet for parents.
"We use this video as a foundation and ask the children what emotions they had in response to the video," Romain said. "We discuss what the children in the video were feeling, then we ask them to write in their journals what they were feeling and give them paper to draw how they feel."
The camp introduced creative techniques like writing and drawing to provide outlets for children's emotions.
"We are giving them tools to express themselves; we speak to them in their own language," Romain said.
Romain used jokes and silliness to engage the children and get them to participate.
"I share stories with them because it helps the children to open up and helps them to feel safe and comfortable enough to share with the group," Romain said. "What we foster is a situation where children learn to relate to each other, help each other, and when someone is having a tough time, learn to stand up for each other."
More than 100 children from the base learned to express themselves and opened up to their peers during the camp.
"They've really shared their feelings about deployments," Romain said. "Some have been very sad, some have cried, some have offered suggestions to others about how they've dealt with it."
Romain has used the same camp to reach out to more than 50,000 Department of Defense dependents schools students around the world.
"We strongly advocate for a strong peer-to-peer culture," Romain said. "Most of the time adults try to fix things for children. We tell them 'don't worry' or 'don't be afraid.' What we are doing is telling them not to feel."
With the high deployment tempo at the 52nd Fighter Wing, helping even the youngest children is a crucial piece of keeping families together, said Jamie Pugh, the wife of Staff Sgt. Matthew Pugh, of the 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron.
"Our family has been through many deployments, and this camp has helped my son Joshua learn how to cope with his father being gone," she said.
Children of service members face unique challenges that non-military children do not have to deal with, Romain said. They deal with frequent school changes, permanent change of station moves, new friends and deployments.
"These children didn't choose to be military children; their parents chose for them," Romain said. "They are real heroes, and they serve too. We are proud to help and support these children with what they're going through."
