HEIDELBERG, Germany -- Fifth-grader Garcelle Sampson stood in line patiently to sample her share of meatballs as she and her classmates eyed a table lined with Skittles, chicken and dumplings, chocolate brownies, snack bread, Tabasco sauce and other government-issued "goodies."
Her final verdict -- the meatballs were good but the snack bread, not so much. In fact it was "kinda lumpy and dry."
The Meals Ready to Eat table was just one of several set up for the Heidelberg Middle School Kids' Boot Camp Monday. The daylong camp was designed to give military kids an opportunity to step inside their parents' combat boots to find out what it's really like to be a Soldier.
Garcelle's mother, Master Sgt. Fernande Sampson, stood nearby snapping photos. This time last month Sampson was still deployed to Afghanistan, where the only way she could see her daughter was through their daily conversations online.
"We just got back from a deployment two and a half weeks ago, so my daughter invited me to this boot camp," Sampson said. "At first I wasn't exactly sure of what it was all about, but I think it's good to have the kids see exactly what we do in the military and what we're going through downrange when we deploy.
"It's good to talk about it, but when they can actually feel and touch it ... like the Humvee and see all of the equipment inside of it and put the camouflage on, it really hits home and helps them to understand more and to adjust," she said.
Garcelle wanted to know what her mom had to do and how hard it was for her, she said as she applied a generous smear of dark green camo to her face.
"It was hard for us ... but I was so happy that she came back safely even though it took a long time," the middle schooler said.
The 11 year old also offered this advice to other military kids dealing with their parent's deployment: "I would say don't be worried about them, because you can always talk to them," she said. "My mom and I talked on Skype, and they should go on Skype and I would tell them their parents will be fine and they'll come back safely."
Sampson, a native of Port au Prince, Haiti, also has two other younger children ages 2 and 6.
Students from HMS and Mark Twain and Patrick Henry elementary schools, took turns visiting the first aid, camouflage, Humvee, combat gear, military working dog and MRE stations during the boot camp.
Soldiers from Headquarters, United States Army Europe and V Corps walked the new "recruits" through simulated exercises and scenarios to familiarize them with the equipment at each station.
"A lot them liked the meatballs," said Pfc. Krystal Paul, who helped man the wildly popular MRE station. "We did get a couple of comments that the MREs tasted better than the school lunches and that kind of concerned me," she said laughing. "They didn't like the crackers though."
There was also a physical training station where students perfected their flutter kicks, jumping jacks and, of course, their push-ups.
"I've had a great time but our first station was the physical fitness station and that was a pain in the butt," said HMS student D.J. Bozza.
At one point, both of D.J.'s parents were deployed at the same time. His father Chief Warrant Officer 2 Dorian Bozza, also at the boot camp, revealed how the family got through the dual separation.
"Fortunately I am blessed to have some really great parents, and they did a good job of taking care of him, so I didn't have to worry about him," Bozza said. "I did my best to call him as much as possible, three times a week when I could, send him an e-mail. The key is constant correspondence to let them know that you're OK."
Lynn Mattingly is a school counselor at HMS and was one of the many people responsible for making sure the boot camp didn't bomb.
"We wanted to honor the students for what they do," Mattingly said. "They have to keep up their end of the bargain while their parents are deployed.In terms of responsibilities they have around their house and their education."
Mattingly also said this year they decided to open up the camp to local elementary school students to allow them to participate in the day's activities, too.
This is the second HMS Kids' Boot Camp, and officials plan to hold the event again next year. The camp is designed for children with parents who are deployed, about to deploy or have returned from a deployment this school year.
"It's really a community effort from a lot of people who have come together to make it happen, Mattingly said. "And I appreciate everything that everyone has done."
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