FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Garrison Commander Col. William Clark and his wife, Andrea, both agreed -- military children "endure a lot."
"Our military children endure a lot. We move a lot. As military service members, we deploy and leave them, and so we need to do a lot to take care of kids and make sure we're preparing them and raising them for the future," Clark said during the Month of the Military Child Pancake Breakfast March 31 at the Forsyth East Child Development Center.
The Clarks have four children, so Andrea said she understands the struggles of the military child.
"They endure a lot -- a lot that adults struggle with, much less being a child," Andrea said. "Whether it's the moving or the deployments -- even just the separations from other Family members that may have been important to them -- it's a lot."
Clark and his wife attended the breakfast, along with other Fort Riley Families. After the couple cooked up some fresh-off-the-griddle pancakes for attendees, Clark signed the Month of the Military Child proclamation and the Child Abuse Prevention Month proclamation. Both observances take place in April.
Clark was assisted by eight military children when signing the proclamations.
"This is your month -- the whole next month is dedicated to our kids. Isn't that pretty cool?" he said to the children, who responded with nods and "yeahs!"
"Months like this are important to let kids know that they're special and that the military cares for our kids, and also, we care for the parents, and it's really just one big Family working together," Clark said.
Part of that "big Family," Maj. Gerald Duenes, logistics officer, 1st Sustainment Brigade, and his wife, Hazel, attended with their three children, Jeffrey, 9, Jonathan, 6, and Joshua,3.
Duenes said he believes the Army is on the right path toward taking care of the whole Army Family.
"(Month of the Military Child) is a great program -- before we used to forget about the Families, especially the children, and they are probably the individuals who are under the most pressure," he said. "Having them recognized and developing programs so they understand the transitions is a great thing."
Hazel said she appreciates the support the Army is showing her children through observances and programs like Month of the Military Child.
"Military children, they go through the same things we go through -- they go through the moves; they go through the changes, and they need to know that we're here to also support them," Hazel said.
The Duenes Family has been at Fort Riley for about a year. The parents said they plan on taking their children to the Month of the Military Child Festival, among other activities this month.
A few of those activities include:
• Month of the Military Child Parade April 10, from Riley's Conference Center to Garrison Headquarters, Building 500
• "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" -- A professional theater company, Great Plains Theatre, Abilene, Kan., will have a live performance of the play at 6 p.m. April 10 at Barlow Theater.
• Month of the Military Child Festival from noon to 3 p.m. April 22 at the Forsyth and Forsyth East CDCs.
For more information, visit www.rileymwr.com.
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