Posted by Robyn Mincher
, DCoE Strategic Communications
on July 29, 2011
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(From left) Military kids Jared, Sean and Kyle Hesketh pose with their dad, Air Force Capt. William Hesketh, on the day he leaves for deployment. (Courtesy photo)
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Military children face unique challenges: the absence of a deployed parent, multiple moves to new cities and schools, and concerns about a parent’s safety—just to name a few.
We asked seven military children how they coped with these transitions and emotions.
Meet Sean Thornton, 13, whose guardian grandfather, retired Marine Staff Sgt. Hector Medina (previously featured in the DCoE newsletter), deployed to Iraq twice. Kyle Hesketh, 16, and his younger brothers, twins Jared and Sean, 11, have lived in two countries and four cities. Their father, Air Force Capt. William Hesketh, is stationed at Lajes Field, Azores (Portugal). Siblings William Whitaker, 21; Marinda Hicks, 13; and Andrew Hicks, Jr., 9, have grown up in a military lifestyle with their mother, Navy Lt. Teresa Mae Hicks. The family has experienced multiple deployments, and Lt. Hicks is currently stationed at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
Tips to Cope with Deployment:
“I would email him and he’d call every week from overseas. My grandma and I would send him stuff like magazines and his favorite candy or DVDs.”
– Sean Thornton