SMC First Sergeant Master Sgt. Thomas Martin leads KUDOS participants in formation drills.

US Air Force Master Sgt. Thomas Martin, First Sergeant, Space Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, Calif., leads participants in formation as part of the of the annual Kids Understanding Deployment Operations event at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Calif., Oct. 22. KUDOS, sponsored by the Airman & Family Readiness Center at LAAFB, is a military and youth interaction program designed to give children a taste of what deployment is like. The children ages five to 15 pass through a mobility line, interact with displays and engage in military-inspired activities throughout the event. (Photo by Sarah Corrice)

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US Coast Guard illustrates military working dog duties at LAAFB KUDOS

US Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Nick Antis, a member of US Coast Guard Maritime Safety & Security Team (MSST) 91103, Long Beach, Calif., rewards Ryder, a bomb-sniffing dog assigned to the team after successfully detecting a simulated hidden explosive at the annual Kids Understanding Deployment Operations (KUDOS) event at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Calif., Oct. 22, 2011. KUDOS is a military and youth interaction program sponsored by the Airman & Family Readiness Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Calif., and is designed to give children a taste of what deployment is like. The children ages five to 15 pass through a mobility line, interact with displays and engage in military-inspired activities throughout the event. (Photo by Sarah Corrice)

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KUDOS teaches military children the many aspects of deployment

Justin Diedolf, 61st Air Base Group Emergency Manager at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., assists a participant with properly fitting his gas mask at the annual Kids Understanding Deployment Operations event at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Calif., Oct. 22, 2011. KUDOS is a military and youth interaction program sponsored by the Airman & Family Readiness Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Calif., and is designed to give children a taste of what deployment is like. The children ages five to 15 pass through a mobility line, interact with displays and engage in military-inspired activities throughout the event. (Photo by Sarah Corrice)

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LAAFB hosts deployment experience for children

Published Nov. 1, 2011
By Lynn Kirby
SMC Public Affairs

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The annual Kids Understanding Deployment Operations event was held Oct. 22, at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Calif. The event was sponsored by the Airman & Family Readiness Center here and introduced approximately 120 military children to the reality of deployment.

The children ranged in age from five to 15 and passed through a series of mobility line stations where they received uniform t-shirts, dog tags, juice boxes, and immunization shots in the form of candy to complete their initial in processing. Master Sgt. Thomas Martin, Space and Missile Systems Center first sergeant, lined up the children into formation and introduced them to basic facing movements, emphasizing first on the importance of knowing one's right from left.

Once all deployers were processed they moved to the parade field where they were able to interact and engage with various displays and military-inspired activities including a Coast Guard military working dog demonstration; military ready to eat meal samples; an obstacle course; a Coast Guard patrol boat and more. The event ended with a team scavenger hunt to locate all the pieces needed to assemble an air rocket for launch.

After all the rockets had been launched the children were treated to an authentic welcome home ceremony complete with banners, balloons and a barbeque. While the experience may not imitate real-life deployments for military members, it does offer the children an opportunity to interact with various aspects of military life and provide an avenue for them to ask questions.

Martin said the point of KUDOS is to emphasize the importance of children in military families. "KUDOS creates stronger, more resilient military families; kids complete KUDOS."

SMC First Sergeant Master Sgt. Thomas Martin leads KUDOS participants in formation drills.

US Coast Guard illustrates military working dog duties at LAAFB KUDOS

KUDOS teaches military children the many aspects of deployment