Military kids go to camp

By Dan Linehan

MADISON LAKE — Samantha Woller’s dad is deploying next week — maybe Iraq or Afghanistan, she doesn’t yet know — but there are very few people she can talk to about it.

Approaching friends in the same position is difficult “because it’s so sensitive,” said the 12-year-old Mankato girl.

And parents, well, it’s not unusual for kids to assume their parents don’t understand.

That’s one reason why Operation Boots On, a two-day camp for kids with loved ones in the military, was so beneficial.

“Just because you really don’t talk about it but ... there’s other people going through what you’re going through,” Woller said when asked whether she’d recommend the camp to others in her situation.

A close friend, 12-year-old Sabrena Meyer, chimes in.

“You can never believe what parents say,” she said sarcastically, with a laugh.

The girls joined 19 other children aged 8 to 12 at Camp Patterson on Lake Washington this weekend. It’s the camp’s first summer, and there are more opportunities in coming months (see accompanying information).

The Army, working with numerous groups including 4-H and the Minnesota National Guard’s Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program, puts on the camp, which is free.

It’s a kid-friendly simulation of military life with activities like using Global Positioning System to find puzzle pieces, eating military food called Meals Ready to Eat or MREs and a “shooting range” using marshmallows blown out of plastic pipes.

There’s also a more symbolic activity used to simulate the effect of military deployment on a community.

The children all hold onto a tarp, then are called one by one to “deploy,” forcing the rest of the children to compensate for their absence as a community reacts to soldiers’ deployments.

Maj. Ed Suarez said even if the kids don’t talk about their feelings or thoughts, they were able to relate with children in similar circumstances. They’re able to bring a non-military friend, as well.

Besides, the camp is fun, too.

The girls liked pouring water into their MRE bag and watching the automatic heaters kick in and heat their food. The jalapeno macaroni and cheese may have been a bit too spicy for their young palates, though.

The camp also includes traditional camp stuff like swimming, canoeing and games.

Woller said she also liked the presence of real soldiers who can talk about their life rather than describe it secondhand.

Julie Olson brought three of her daughters to the camp. Her husband, Troy, deployed to Iraq for 22 months and is currently training for two weeks in Camp Ripley.

“It does ’em good to get it out,” she said of the children. Meeting kids in similar situations teaches them “it’s alright to feel that way.”

On the Web: www.beyondtheyellowribbon.org