The Fort Campbell Morale, Welfare and Recreation kicked off the 30th Annual Month of the Military Child observation Saturday with an outdoor celebration at Fryar Stadium.
Month of the Military Child, established in 1989 by then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, is one way the Department of Defense shows its appreciation for the sacrifices military children make to be the force behind the force.
“Their Journeys and Adventures” is this year’s theme, and Fort Campbell’s celebration is part of festivities taking place throughout April across the armed services.
Saturday’s event drew a large number of Families, and provided a range of activities for children to enjoy. Tammy Heath, assistant parent outreach services director, oversaw the activities and along with the other personnel involved with the event worked hard to make it a success.
“This is actually the 30th year that we’re celebrating so it’s huge,” Heath said. “We have bumper balls, we have bouncers, we have rock climbing, we have games at every table, there’s food, there’s the parade … and it’s just a whole lot of fun.”
The rock climbing wall rose into the air from the north side of the football field, and booths with games, face painting and bubbles lined the sidelines. Live on-stage performances, dancing and music added to the festive mood of the celebration. Next to the stage was an area for laser tag play as well as inflatable bouncers. Bumper balls along with a soccer goal were situated at the south portion of the football field.
Many parents were rolling or bumping their children who were tucked inside the bumper balls, which are large inflatable cylinders open at the top and bottom with handles on the inside for children to hold onto.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jorge Valencia, an engineering equipment tech, assigned to the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, rolled his son Alexander around. At one point Valencia, who has been in the Army for 15 years, rolled his son into the soccer goal, spinning Alexander head over heels as they enjoyed their time together at the festival.
“We’re in the military and it’s very important to make the kids understand what the military is and the importance Families have for us in the military,” Valencia said. “It’s important [because] it’s a Family event.”
Valencia has two children both born after he joined the military. One was born in Fort Hood, Texas, and the other was born overseas in Germany. All they have known is military life, and Valencia said he was trying to make sure his children enjoyed themselves at this celebration for them.
His son’s smiles and laughter while being spun around in the bumper ball indicated Valencia was doing a good job.
“I’m really proud [of my children],” Valencia said “We’re trying to show them what is the right thing to do and show them today how this is the month of the military kids, so they can enjoy this and be part of the military Family.”
Across the field, other children took part in different events, including children from the School of Knowledge, Inspiration, Exploration and Skills Unlimited guitar class, led by their instructor Gabriel Huff. The guitar students took the stage and played for the crowd. Their final musical rendition was “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons as Huff sang.
Jonathan L. Miranda, a homeschooled 12-year-old, enjoyed getting to play his first song in front of a crowd, which included his parents Jonathan and Nicole Miranda. With only six months of experience playing the guitar at SKIES Unlimited, he has already learned a large number of chords, but he was nervous.
“It was nerve-
wracking,” Jonathan said. “[Although], I think we did a really good job.” After performing,
Jonathan was excited to play laser tag.
Seeing children like Alexander and Jonathan taking part in the games and activities while enjoying themselves pleased Heath. She said the 17 installation child development centers and youth centers serve more than 1,800 children and the staff is always there to support Fort Campbell’s children. She added employees have been planning and organizing the event for Month of the Military Child for about a year.
“Well it’s really great,” Heath said. “I saw this one little guy, [and he] had his face painted. He looked up at his mom and he pointed to his caregivers. He saw his caregivers here and they’re not used to necessarily seeing them outside of their child care room. So it was really great to see the elation on his face.”
MOTMC events
•Purple Up Day, April 15, where individuals wear purple to show support for military and veteran children. See more at www.militarychild.org/news-and-events/month-of-the-military-child-tool-kit#sthash.uUA8xdsM.dpuf.
•Family Fun Day 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 23, Taylor Youth Center.
•Family Game Night from 5-7 p.m. April 28, Family Resource Center. Hosted by 4H and CYSS, the first 50 Families to sign up will take home one Family game. Child care reservations provided for children 6 weeks to 3 years old registered with CYSS. Hot dogs, chips and juice will be served.
•For more information about Month of the Military Child activities visit www.facebook.com/FortCampbellMWR/ or http://campbell.armymwr.com/us/campbell