Aviano students prepare for deployment

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Justin Goodrich
  • Det. 8, Air Force News Agency
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  In an effort to teach students the deployment process, Aviano children put camouflage paint on their faces and went through a mini-deployment line April 19. 

"Deployments for a child are a very depressing thing, especially for particular ages who do not know how to deal with it," said Senior Master Sgt. John Roth, base deployment coordinator. 

This year, 130 children from the elementary and middle school got "deployed," and more than 60 volunteers helped with the deployment process. 

"They are asking their parents, 'When are you going to get deployed so I can be a part of this,'" said Kris Kessler, who is in charge of the Aviano Elementary School Deployment Club. "It means so much to them. The whole community has accepted this as a real positive part of deployment." 

Aviano holds a deployment for children with deployed parents twice a year. The program began four years ago and quickly became a big attraction for students and volunteers. 

"As long as I can help them understand more about what is going on, it will make me feel better," said Airman 1st Class Heather Fisher, mock deployment volunteer "If I ever had kids, I would want them to understand too."