LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Operation Hero, an annual event that gives children of Airmen insight into what their parents go through during deployments, was held Aug. 14 at the Langley Youth Center.
The goal of the program is to ease the stress of deployments on children and maintain family unity. At the event, children interacted with Airmen to simulate a deployment line, including receiving orders, getting fitted in protective gear and wearing concealment face paint.
"This experience teaches children what their parents do at work and during deployments," said Tech. Sgt. Letrecia Williams, Airman and Family Readiness Center program coordinator.
Tech. Sgt. Erine Gallant, 1st Medical Operations Squadron, brought her son Logan to the event. Logan's father is currently deployed in Afghanistan, and Sergeant Gallant hoped Operation Hero would show Logan what his dad experiences while deployed.
"Logan sees his father and I going to work, and he doesn't realize that we do more than just go to our office," said Sergeant Gallant. "Operation Hero gives him the chance to see some of the cool things we experience."
The children did more than just process in the deployment line. Newport News police brought four military working dogs to demonstrate the dogs' unique abilities in criminal apprehension and drug detection. After the demonstration, children were allowed to pet one of the dogs.
Afterwards, an explosive ordinance disposal team provided a bomb-handling robot for children to control, which was one of the highlights for many of the kids. "My favorite part was playing with the little robot," said Jamaria Ridges, daughter of a deployed Airman.
"They just see their parents leave every day and are sometimes gone for months," said Sergeant Williams. "The purpose of Operation Hero is to show Langley's support to Airmen and their families during deployments."
The event helps ease the minds of children who don't yet understand what happens during deployments, taking some of the stress out of what can be a frightening experience.
"Just because children's parents have to go somewhere else and help other people doesn't mean they have to be afraid," said Sergeant Gallant. "It's all a part of what we do, and this shows them it's not scary."