History of Military Children

For as long as the armed services has been calling men and women to serve their country there have been children raised in the military. A child of a military family is often subject to frequent moves as their parent or both parents are re-assigned and re-located. Many other families are subject to great absences of a parent as a military dispute requires deployment. In some cases a child may be missing a parent for years at a time. Families are also affected by injury and illness upon the return of a parent, from an operation.

The plight of the military child has become recognized for it's unique challenges in recent years. In 1986 Casper Weinberger the Secretary of Defense at the time acknowledged April as the Month of the Military child in an attempt to show children of military families that their personal sacrifices are recognized with respect and gratitude.

Despite the evident strain on the family unit military children have truly unique community experience. The nature of a military base is often by virtue communal and supportive, creating a sub-culture of "military brats" as is a popular colloquial terminology. This struggle often engenders a unique strength and flexibility in military children as they grow up.

The absence of a parent or a childhood spent in transit creates a unique sensibility in these children it can be difficult to feel any sense of a "hometown" and many friendships are built and lost in the process. Many military children try to locate with many of their lost childhood friends. If you are a military child or were there are some specialized websites on the web to help you re-connect with your friends from the past, or other military children like you.

Find your missing friends...