‘The adventure continues’: Military households unite outdoor, recharge collectively

Families from all branches of the army collect for prolonged weekends to interact in leisure actions together with rock-climbing, white-water rafting, cover excursions, zip lining, mountain biking and extra. 

“This is all about family time, enjoying a weekend outdoors and without distractions,” Atkinson mentioned. “We take care of all the details so these families can just enjoy the moments with each other and other military families. We want these families to connect, and stay connected, for a long time.” 

This yr, one of many MTAC occasions included rock-climbing via ferrata, an Italian time period which means “iron path,” supervised by the Southeast Mountain Guides on the Red River Gorge in Campton, Kentucky. 

For James Brown, a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and his daughter Jayla, who’re first-time MTAC contributors, coming to the Red River Gorge supplied a singular alternative for “one-on-one” time, proper earlier than Father’s Day. 

“We’re an outdoor family,” the Brown household mentioned. “We wanted to come out and experience real fun. MTAC is perfect for doing something fun together and having that daddy-daughter time.” 

From Toledo, Ohio, Angela Burke and her daughter Julia have participated in MTAC 5 occasions. For the Burke household, who had been a part of the Ohio Air National Guard for 22 years via Angela’s husband earlier than he not too long ago retired, investing in these experiences is all about breaking away, constructing friendships and creating recollections. 

“This is about stepping outside of your normal routine, getting off phones and getting to know other military families,” the Burke household mentioned. “We don’t remember what we did last week, but we always remember what we did together every year at these camps — it’s something that you will remember forever. MTAC is fun, unique and an experience that more military families should know about.” 

Sam Pier, an Air Force Individual Mobilization Augmentee, and his son Gideon, came upon about MTAC via the Family Readiness Center at Hickam Air Force Base. For the Pier household, who’ve demanding schedules, coming to MTAC for the primary time was all about taking the time to understand what this system presents. 

“Everyone is busy, and schedules can fill up quick, but it’s all about intentionally setting that time aside to do something different,” the Pier household mentioned. “Even though it’s unfamiliar and uncomfortable at first, we just trusted that it’s a great program and wanted to set that time aside to just do it. It was a blast.” 

Military families and youth of all ages had been invited to take part in low-impact, accessible camp actions together with archery, fishing, climbing, canoeing, arts and crafts, ropes course, rock wall, board video games and extra. 

Kimberly Schrader, extension specialist for 4-H Youth Development at Martin-Gatton CAFE, believes that Operation: Family Recharge presents one thing totally different for all households. 

“Operation: Family Recharge provides families with a unique opportunity to learn and grow together,” Schrader mentioned. “Through hands-on experiences and collaborative activities, parents and youth strengthened important life skills such as communication, resiliency, decision-making and problem-solving. The retreat was designed to help families build stronger relationships while developing the tools needed to successfully navigate challenges together.” 

At MTAC packages, taking part campers and households every get a t-shirt that claims “The Adventure Continues” on the again. 

Kerri Ashurst, senior FCS Extension specialist and Military Family Camping Program director at Martin-Gatton CAFE, mentioned she desires such adventures to proceed via extra funding and extra year-round programming for army households sooner or later. 

“Funding for military camps began from this incredible idea for service member parents and their families to come together for fun adventure,” Ashurst mentioned. “Over the last 16 years, it has been truly magical to witness our Military Family Camping Program’s growing popularity and the number of families who have returned to experience our adventure camps and grow together. We see a big opportunity to expand our programs, hosting more camps throughout the year in more locations and reaching more military families.”  

Military Teen Adventure Camps is a partnership funded by the Department of War, Military Community and Family Policy, Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, Children, Youth, and Families, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, via a grant with Auburn University. 

This materials is predicated upon work that’s supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, below award quantity 20234870341193. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or suggestions expressed on this publication are these of the writer(s) and don’t essentially mirror the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

The program reported on this article was made attainable partially by a donation from the 4-H Foundation.