By Corben Carpenter
Patch Elementary School, 4th Grade
I think that being a military child is kind of hard but also fun. For example, I get to have the opportunity to live in different parts of the world. Sometimes you move a lot, I have moved five times and I am only nine years old.
One advantage of being a military child is I get to experience new cultures, foods, traditions and languages.
There are some not so good things, like having to say goodbye to your friends, family and sometimes pets. Sometimes your parents are deployed or on TDY (temporary duty) for a long time and they miss important things like birthdays, holidays and other special occasions.
When my Dad was young, he lived in Germany as well because his dad was in the Army. It is fun to share that history with him. He shows me the places he went when he was little, and we take the same family photos now as he did then.
There is also the excitement of moving to a new duty station. Not knowing where it will be, and the anticipation of the adventures to come. It is fun to research and explore new places and things to do.
I think life as a military child is great. Sometimes I think about joining the military because almost all the men on my Dad’s side of the family have been in some branch of it. The Coast Guard is the only branch that no one has served in our family.
Editor’s note: Essays from students across the Stuttgart military community are submitted to the School Liaison Office each March and published throughout the month of April on The Citizen, at the Panzer Main Exchange and read aloud on AFN Stuttgart radio to celebrate our military children in Stuttgart.