Base celebrates military children

  • Published
  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Children ages 3 to 5 got the chance April 20 to get an up close and personal view of what their parents here do on a day-to-day basis.

For the fourth consecutive year, groups from the child development center and the Escape Zone toured a C-17 Globemaster III static as part of festivities celebrating April as Month of the Military Child.

The tour of the C-17 and a visit from McChord's fire department were two of the major activities the staff at the Escape Zone planned to celebrate in April, said coordinator Frances Briseno-Wendel, 62nd Mission Support Squadron.

After a classroom discussion about the challenges of being in the military, the children got to see what it was like to be in the military firsthand during the tour, she said.

"The tour served as a focal point [for the children to see] what mom and dad are doing in the Air Force," Ms. Briseno-Wendel said.

"The children looked forward to the day so much," said CDC teacher Alfie Fretz, 62nd Services Squadron. "There's real hands-on learning going on when the children can physically touch and see things."

Many of the parents who have children enrolled at the CDC volunteered during the event, she said. 

"It was good for the children to see their parents as role models working on the plane," Ms. Fretz said.

"When the plane flies, they know just how their parents are involved."

After the tour, the classes took the pictures from the tour and made scrapbooks to record their experiences and share them with others, Ms. Fretz said.

Caspar Weinberger, former defense secretary, established the Month of the Military Child in 1986 to recognize military children and their important role in the armed forces.

(Information from an Air Force Print News article was used in this story.)