JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
The 802nd Force Support Squadron’s Military & Family Readiness Center hosted Operation Junior Expeditionary Team at the Inter-American Air Force Academy Airfield Training Complex at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland June 17.
The event provided dependent children from across JBSA the opportunity to experience what their military parents may encounter preparing for a deployment.
The children experienced in-processing, field training with a simulated obstacle course, helmet and body armor fitting, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal robot demonstration and a tour of a C-130 Hercules.
According to the JBSA School Liaison Program, Operation Junior Expeditionary Team, or OPJET, is important because it helps students better understand the deployment cycle and helps them to better relate to and cope with their parent’s deployment. Making events and activities real and relevant helps students’ ability to understand.
“It is important to help families to understand deployment before and during deployment because it helps prepare them as to what to expect and the support offered,” said Angela Green, Randolph School Liaison Program Manager. “It allows them to understand and know the support system they have in the midst of the deployment and it helps prepare them for reintegration, which is just as important.”
Life on active duty doesn’t just affect the service members, deployments separate families and often cause children to wonder why their parent must go away and when will they be back.
Often, the military child doesn’t always know how or why their mom or dad leaves. The OPJET program helps to shed some light on this process for young people.
“Even prior to deployments, there are a number of unit demands levied upon the service members that take mommy and daddy away,” said Master Sgt. Christopher Murdock, JBSA-Randolph Military & Family Readiness noncommissioned officer in charge. “I see deployment separation beginning before service members even ship out. I think OPJET helps answer the ‘why’ behind the separation, and that is important for the well-being of all family members.”
These events not only help families understand, they also serve as a positive event that illustrates the important role the active duty parent fills in the military.
The deployment support team provides ongoing education, outreach and events like OPJET to help families cope with deployment-related challenges.