Operations HEROES shows young warriors what parents do when deployed

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Wesley Wright
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (ACCNS) --  Hundreds of children and their families participated in "KIDakastan" predeployment activities here Oct. 18 as part of the second-annual "Operation HEROES".

"This event helps explain to the children what moms and dads go through when they deploy," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Westerman, Airman and Family Readiness Center personnel and family readiness noncommissioned officer-in-charge, and one of the event coordinators. "They do everything from going through a predeployment flight line to getting their shot records and their dog tags. We actually 'recalled' all the kids the last couple of nights to let them know they needed to report for this deployment to KIDakastan."

The purpose of the event was to give children of deploying family members a better understanding of what their military parents go through in order to deploy. The young "warriors" were given briefings by various base agencies such as finance, public health and the chapel. Additionally, displays were set up in front of the David C. Jones Youth Center where family members could get hands-on experience with everything from a fire truck to an explosive ordnance demolition robot.

Last year's event saw about 260 family members participate in the deployment to "FarFarAwayIstan." This year, more than 400 participated in the deployment to KIDakastan.

"It's outstanding to see the children here," Sergeant Westerman said. "To me, they're the heroes for us. The military child goes through a lot, moving from base to base, dealing with deployments, transitioning to different schools and things like that."

A father of two, Sergeant Westerman had a vested interest in the event and was excited to see his children getting hands-on experience with predeployment activities.

"I've been on a few deployments and it's great having my son and daughter here experiencing what I went through when I deployed," he added. "The deployment process is a challenging process and for the kids to go through it and see what I do when I deploy is outstanding."

Another parent proud to see her children involved in the day's events was Staff Sgt. Mariah LeBlanc, 5th Medical Group noncommissioned officer-in-charge of diagnostic imaging.

"I think my kids enjoyed coming and getting to see all the different activities available," Sergeant LeBlanc said. "It was great for them to get a little bit of an idea of what it's like when we get ready to deploy."

Sergeant Mariah's children, Eli, 5 and Zsa Zsa, 3, wore matching uniforms with their mom and said they enjoyed the day's activities.

"I liked the fire drill and putting on the gas mask," Eli said. "That was so fun!"

Whether it's KIDakastan or Afghanistan, Minot AFB's young warriors better understand now "what mommy and daddy do."