1.9 million kids (between the ages 0-18) have parents in the military. That may sound like a lot, but it’s small compared to the 318.9 million people that live in the United States.

The life of a military kid isn’t hard, but it isn’t easy either. There are a lot of things that come with having military parents. I am a Navy/Air force brat, which means I have parents in both the Air Force and Navy. My step-dad is now retired from the air force, my mother works for the Air Force as a civilian, and my father works for the navy. I never really experienced PCSing (permanent change of station) or moving, but my dad moves about every 2-4 years. Since I visit my father every summer, I’ve been to very cool places. This past summer, he moved to Hawaii, there was a lot of fun weekend activities. The coolest place I got to live in was definitely Alaska. I lived there for about 5 years, and it was a fun place to live.

Being a military kid can be fun, but a bit scary. My father deploys very often, but he never tells me where he’s going.

With military parents, there are several things that we can get. Either the experience of new places, maybe even foreign countries, or just getting cool souvenirs when your parents come home. My mom is gone at least once a month, but she always brings home cool souvenirs! I still have a mask from Africa my dad brought home for me, and it’s awesome!

Not all military families have the same experience as me. Some have parents that have to go off doing dangerous jobs doing field work, and sometimes come home injured, or don’t come home at all. I just happen to be lucky that my parents have safer jobs.

Many military kids have parents that risk their lives for us and our country.