HILL AIR FORCE BASE — Deployments to far-off places are one of the hardest things military families go through.
Usually, children watch with tears in their eyes as parents board military planes and leave their families for months at a time. But at Hill Air Force Base on Thursday, those roles were completely reversed. Hill held its annual "Kids Deployment Day," where more than 600 military children went through the rigors of a deployment processing line. Children from Hill Field Elementary School were given a field trip to the base in the morning and early afternoon, while children from other schools across the Top of Utah participated at night. "It’s kind of an all-day thing," said Sgt. Terri Davis, the event’s organizer. "We’ve got so many military families in this area, and we want all the kids to see a deployment from their parents’ perspective." The children, all younger than 12, received dog tag issues, gas mask fittings and aircraft tours. The children also enjoyed military working-dog demos and entomology exhibits, all of which helped them see exactly what their loved ones would likely encounter while deployed. Davis said the mock deployment was hosted by the Airman and Family Readiness Center, and not only gives children a chance to see what military members experience right before they deploy, but also educates them on how to cope with the temporary loss of a parent. "We’re trying to make it realistic so they can really experience it firsthand, but we’re also trying to educate them," Davis said. "These kids are obviously going to miss mom and dad very much, but hopefully after this, they’ll have a better understanding of why their parents do what they do and be able to cope with it." The children were also given an up-close look at an F-16 Thunderbird demonstration plane, an A-10 Warthog, and even piled into a huge C-130 cargo plane. "We were kind of lucky, because the Thunderbird just happens to be here by chance," said Lt. Col. Mark Proulx, a test pilot at Hill. "Seeing these planes up close on the flightline is something not a lot of kids have the opportunity to do, so this is good for them. They’re excited." Hill Field Elementary students Kaedyn Thompson, 5, and Joel Farnsworth, 6, both said they were most excited about seeing the aircraft. "I think it’s cool to be here because of the planes," Kaedyn said.
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HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- Deployments to far off places are one of the hardest things military families go through.
Usually, children watch with tears in their eyes as parents board military planes and leave their family for months at a time.
But at Hill Air Force Base on Thursday, those roles were completely reversed.
Hill held its annual "Kids Deployment Day," where more than 600 military children planned to go through the riggers of a deployment processing line.
Children from Hill Field Elementary received a field trip to the base in the morning and early afternoon, while school children from other schools across the Top of Utah were to participate Thursday night.
"It's kind of an all day thing," said Sgt. Terri Davis, the event's organizer. "We've got so many military families in this area and we want all the kids to see a deployment from their parents' perspective."
The children, all under the age of 12, received dog tag issues, gas mask fittings, aircraft tours, military working dog demos, entomology exhibits, all of which helped the children see exactly what their loved ones would likely encounter while deployed.
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