February 11, 2025: The Washington Post reports that dozens of middle school students in Germany walked out of class as a protest of Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s visit to Patch Barracks — “Hegseth’s visit to U.S. base in Germany met with student walkout,” The Washington Post
For most of this century, the U.S. has been at war. Below the surface of headlines about deployments, battles, service members wounded or killed, there are so many others in service to the country without wearing any uniform. One group of people affected by decisions made in our name is that group of young people who rarely if ever receive any mention or recognition: military brats (see here how “brat” is an acronym for children of military service members 5 Unique Facts About Military Children and Their Families | Military.com).
In and of itself, the student walk-out is not big news. Nothing occurred that prompted calling out the troops or the military police. Parents were not summoned to get control of their children. It is, however, worthy of some thought.
- First, these were middle school students. Generally, these are young people ranging in age between 12 and 15. The article indicated that the walk-out was, in part, led by “an eighth-grade student who is not yet 14 years old”.
- A second point to understand about these students is that they are, in their own way and in their world, veterans of a sort. It is very likely that most of these students were born into the military. They had no say in the matter. Their serving parents have decided to make military service a career and that is why they are middle school students on a military installation. During their short lives, these students have likely lived on and off of military installations. The only constant in their lives is some element of the military. Many other things are in flux and they have little to no influence on how decisions and events impact their lives.
- Third, as middle school students, it is easy to assume that they have been uprooted multiple times, living in different locations (continents) and changing schools regardless of their personal desires. Their friends, their schools and their residences are temporary.
- Fourth, despite their tender age, they understand what deployments are and the dangers and risks that those deployments pose. Like it or not, they either have or are about to reach that age when they realize that they are part of a system that relegates them to being veteran spectators. Their role during deployments is to remain, as much as possible, normal regardless of where a deployment takes their serving parent. Their job is to soldier on because they, too, serve in their distinct way.
- Finally, there is something about “growing up” military. There is a familiarity with the system of structure, order, discipline and service. The all-volunteer military that has been in place since the end of the draft (U.S. military draft ends, Jan. 27, 1973 – POLITICO) relies to some extent on these military brats to keep the current all-volunteer system in place. Though slightly dated, a January 2020 New York Times article reported that “more and more, new recruits are the children of old recruits. In 2019, 79 percent of Army recruits reported having a family member who served. For nearly 30 percent, it was a parent — a striking point in a nation where less than 1 percent of the population serves in the military.” Who Signs Up to Fight? Makeup of U.S. Recruits Shows Glaring Disparity – The New York Times
My forecast for the future: Given the country’s dependence upon an all-volunteer force, it would be prudent for those in civilian leadership positions to be mindful of the fact that we rely on a tradition of service among our military dependent young people to be our future soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
About the Author: Attorney Timothy Trainer worked in multiple federal government agencies and in the private sector. His non-traditional legal career included significant time focused on international trade issues. His work required extensive travel around the world, including dozens of trips to the Asia-Pacific region. His experiences led him to co-author a legal treatise for fifteen years, penning novels including “The China Connection,” and “Pendulum Over the Pacific,” and authored a non-fiction book “The Fortunate Son: Top, Through the Eyes of Others,” about men who served in Vietnam with his father. Learn more at TimothyTrainer.com.