CALL OF
FEATURE
DUTY
An inside look into a military family
M
ilitary kids around the world Germany, and now here [Rocklin]. It’s sit, hope, and wait for their never fun leaving friends and having parents to to move to schools and come back to them adjusting all the time,” safe and sound. These Aaron said. military families are The nomadic lifestyle that the ones who are left these kids live in involve behind while their losing their parents for loved one, or in some unknown periods of time. cases loved ones, travel BORN Parents in the military are into the unknown, not deployed all the time and Abilene, Texas knowing if they will can be gone for a year or return. more. Most families keep in Some military contact through the use of THEN families are forced to Skype, letters, long distance • Mississippi move around more landlines and even social often than others. media. • San Antonio, “My dad has been in “[Our dad] has been Texas the military my whole deployed four times. He is life and we had to move • Little Rock, Ark. currently deployed and will about every two years. be gone for a year...we Skype • Montgomery, Ala. I've had to lived in 10 all the time,” Aaron said. different places...and we • Wheeling, W.V. Some children are lucky have to move one more • Anchorage, Alaska enough to get their parents time before my dad back while others are not • Stuttgart, Germany so lucky. Many studies have retires,” Megan Aaron said. shown that many soldiers These military kids return with symptoms NOW have to move around of PTSD [post-traumatic state to state and even stress disorder] or severe Rocklin out of country forcing depression. Even with the them to leave behind risk the military life allows friends and family wherever they go. for soldiers to reap the benefits of their “I was born in Texas; then we went hard work, such as paying for college to Mississippi, back to Texas, Arkansas, tuition and health care. Alabama, West Virginia, Alaska, SELENA CERVANTES
MEGAN ON THE MOVE
THE HARSH AFTERMATH OF WAR
247,243
349
veterans from the Iraq and service Afghanistan Wars have members been diagnosed with PTSD committed suicide last year
9/11, nearly 30% of the 834,463 soldiers from the Iraq Since
and Afghanistan War have PTSD
295 killed in combat in Afghanistan.
Iraq resulted in the death of soldiers
100,000 Army soldiers and Marines will be let go from the military We’ve lost
4804 3395 soldiers
in Afghanistan so far
Sources: The Daily Beast, PBS newshour, Military Factory
Milestones from Megan Aaron’s military family
Richard Aaron’s promotion to colonel in the Air Force, November 2012
Family photo in Texas, 2001
9
Christmas photo, September 2013
FEBRUARY 2014