Month of the Military Child: Celebrating Military Children in Our Community

April is the Month of the Military Child—a month in which we recognize and honor military children for the sacrifices they make and the challenges they overcome.

We are so proud of our community’s military children, and are excited to share some of their stories throughout April. Military children and military families face unique hardships and navigate challenging circumstances every day, demonstrating strength and unmatched  resilience. We honor their service, sacrifice, and patriotism as they support their loved ones’’ military service and, in turn, our nation.

Our first story comes from military spouse and Army Veteran Cassaundra Martinez. Cassaundra is an alumna of Cohort 5 and the mother to 8 military children. Her husband recently retired from the US Army.

“Behind every military kid is a strong network of community. Our kids are more resilient than we think they are, and in the military we can’t go it alone. Our kids have dealt with multiple moves, TDY’s, and deployments over the years. The only thing that was constant and helped them to face all the challenges military life threw at them was family and community—being accepted and having a sense of belonging where others are going through the same things as you is powerful. It also helped that we got so much support from our non-military friends!

Our kids are handling way more at this age than most of their peers. They’ve learned to manage their emotions and reason that while their dad was out frequently on TDYs and deployments, they could handle any problems that come at them. Their resilience is quite impressive, and their character has grown tremendously in responsibility, duty, and courage. We’re so proud of them!

I think what our kids admire most about my husband is the selfless-service that he gave every day while in the military. They watched him over the years miss out on key events, and as they got older recognized that he was serving something greater than himself. His commitment was evident and they’ve learned that dedication from him. It may be tough in the moment, but it’s worth it!”