Military Child Resources

April is designated as the Month of the Military Child to recognize and celebrate the unique experiences and challenges military children encounter as they move around the globe with their families.

Frequent moves to new communities, enduring parents’ deployments, changing schools, making new friends, and leaving old ones behind are sacrifices military children make in their roles as part of service families and the armed forces community.

Military children are often referred to as military brats. It is not considered a derogatory term, but rather a badge of honor and sub-cultural identity. There is even a national day—April 30—dedicated to these children: Military Brats Day.

Purple Up! For Military Kids is another day dedicated to military children. On this day, April 15, defense and military-connected communities wear purple to visibly applaud military children for their courage and resilience. While National Purple Up Day is April 15, each state, organization, school and military installation schedules their celebration to best fit their needs. Check with your local base, school or organization to know when to wear your purple!

Purple is the color of the military child, as it symbolizes all branches of the military. Purple is a combination of Army green, Marine Red, and Coast Guard, Air Force, and Navy blue.

Dandelions are the flower of military children, because, like the flower’s blossoms, military kids are carried to all the corners of the world, can put down roots almost anywhere, adapt to the environment, thrive and grow, and, once rooted, are impossible to destroy.

To support military children and mitigate some of the impacts of frequent moves and new schools, the military school liaison officer (SLO) serves as the primary link between schools, commanders and military parents pertaining to K-12 educational issues and supporting academic success.

Parents and community members with questions on school-age military child education are encouraged to contact their local SLO, a position filled on all major installations.

On The Liberty Coast, the Navy MWR websites (Child & Youth tabs) and Fleet and Family Support Centers are terrific starting places for information and resources for Navy and Marine children. Below are just some of the resources available to support military children:

Commander, Navy Region Southeast School Liaison Officer: (904) 542-4566, CNISHQSLO.FCT@Navy.Mil

Navy Child and Youth Programs Portal: ELibrary.CNIC-N9Portal.Net

NSB Kings Bay MWR: NavyMWRKingsBay.Com; School Liaison Officer: (912) 573-8986 or (912) 339-7102, KingsBaySLO@Navy.Mil

NAS Jacksonville MWR: NavyMWRJacksonville.Com; School Liaison Officer: (904) 778-2236 or (904) 238-6821, JaxNASMWRSchoolLiaison@Navy.Mil

NS Mayport MWR: NavyMWRMayport.Com; School Liaison Officer: (904) 270-6289 ext. 1305, MayportSLO@Navy.Mil

Florida Guard Family Programs: (800) 226-0360

Department of Defense Education Activity: School Liaison Officer Locator, DODEA.Edu

Military Child Education Coalition: MilitaryChild.Org

Naval Services Family Line: Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, NSFamilyLine.Org

Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3): MIC3.Net

Marine Corps Community Services: USMC-MCCS.Org

Hero Missions: Resources to children of combat-injured Veterans, HiddenHeroes.Org

Military Child Benefits: MilitaryBenefits.Info/Month-Of-The-Military-Child