This young lady's viewpoint has to interest all with WVa roots! ****************************************************************************** *********** Hannah Reger: Proud to be a 'Brat' The 12-year-old daughter of U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Chuck Reger shares her thoughts on military family life in an essay written for her class at Buckhannon Upshur Middle School in Buckhannon, West Virginia. I am proud to be a military "brat". My dad is in the Air Force. I know how going into war affects military members and their families. If our country goes to war with Iraq, many families will be affected. Eleven years ago my dad was in the Middle East helping to free Kuwait from Iraq's occupation. The families are proud that their husbands, wives, children, brothers, or sisters are going to fight for their country but they are aware that they might lose them. If they go into war there is no telling how long they will be gone. It could be months and for some possibly years. This is hard because in that amount of time you may not get to see them or even get to talk to them. When you do get a letter you normally can't write back because they cannot tell you where they are stationed. The active duty family endures many hardships. Personnel cuts and increased conflict in the world known as "ops tempo" cause families to be separated all the time. The reserves and national guards are members of their home community. They are being called to duty to support the need to disarm Iraq. When they leave, some families experience financial debt because of the cuts in their paychecks. People who are single parents many times must send their children to grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other family members to live until their parent's deployment is over and they can go home. Our military members can miss a lifetime of moments while they are deployed. The birth of a child, a baby's first steps, scoring in the big game, and the death of a grandparent are all moments that they can't be given back. But, these are the sacrifices that each military member and their families are willing to make. After all, we built our nation to give us the right to choose to defend others and ourselves in need. I am proud to be a military "brat".

I always thought Military brats are higher up people like a LT. or Col. or Comamader kids who are never told to stop doing the wrongs they were doing. My husband was a staff sargent at the time this Col. little girl and her mother came to my apartment and the kids climbed everything in sight. My couch, my washer and dryer, table and you name it and even got inside of my kitchen sink! Then the Army brat gave her dad more problems. The teachers can not handle her in school. Behavior like this is what I call Military Brat! Gloria Wertz of Point Marion, PA Your belt may not buckle but your knees will.