By Mary Nell Sanchez, 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs / Published June 22, 2018
Participants in the Operation Junior Expeditionary Team (OpJET) event, 'return home' June 22, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. OpJET provides children the opportunity to see a mock deployment and gives them an idea what their parent experiences when they report for duty away from home, as well as the process when they return.
A child of a military member can face many challenges. When a parent is deployed, the child worries about when they’ll see their loved one again.
Questions and concerns were addressed when the 802nd Force Support Squadron held their annual Operation Junior Expeditionary Team (OpJET) event, June 22, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. OpJET provides children the opportunity to see a mock deployment and gives them an idea what their parent experiences when they report for duty away from home, as well as the process when they return.
“I think that because she’s going to a place that’s dangerous, I’m probably going to start praying for her,” said 11-year old Chadwin Silva, son of U.S. Army Maj. Charlie Silva.
Chadwin’s mom Amarylis, is about to be deployed for the first time to Southeast Asia. The civilian military servant, who works at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Military & Family Readiness Center wants to make sure Chadwin and his two sisters are prepared for the six-month separation.
“I don’t want them to be concerned. I want them to know that I am going to a safe place,” Amarylis said.
More than 50 children participated in activities which included combat demonstrations, gear fitting and physical training. Military working dog training demonstrations, Security Forces training, processing booths and other activities provided children a front seat to what their parents experience firsthand.
“They may not really understand what all that [deployment] is or what it looks like…Is it enough to keep mom or dad safe?,” said Tech. Sgt. Anthony Garrow, 802nd FSS readiness NCO.
Chadwin’s father, Maj. Silva has been deployed three times during his Army career and will stay behind and take care of the family’s children.
“There’s equipment, there’s weapons, there’s protective equipment and he [Chadwin] needs to know that when we go out there in harm’s way we’re being taken care of,” Maj. Silva said.
OpJET is one of the largest programs in the Air Force. OpJET is a component of the Hearts Apart program available to all military families. Hearts Apart was created to keep families connected with the military men and women serving abroad.
“At any given time, I have about 200-250 families that I reach out to on a monthly basis,” Garrow added.
New families receive a basket containing a teddy bear, post cards to write parents who are deployed, journals to write about the experience, and a movie that addresses the deployment process for children and parents to watch together.
“It helps lesson the blow…They [children] get to understand what’s going to happen in the next six or seven months,” said Garrow.
Joanna Rios agrees. The school age coordinator for the JBSA-Lackland Youth Program said a better understanding of deployment is crucial.
“It [OpJET] gives them the whole picture of what happens to mom and dad when they are deployed,” said Rios.
Some children can’t help but be concerned they’ll never see their loved one again.
“They worry about their parents coming back,” Rios said.
Programs that keep military children educated about their parent’s role during a deployment are planned throughout the year, with project OpJET being the primary summer event.