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Local teachers 'deploy' to Cannon, better understand military children

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Raymond Gobberg
  • 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Explosions and small-arms fire filled the air surrounding the camp as 39 teachers from Ranchvale and Mesa Elementary schools scurried from their tent to a nearby observation bunker here April 1. 

The teachers, windblown and donning a combination of Airman Battle Uniforms and Battle Dress Uniforms, cheered proudly as security forces Airmen responded to and then neutralized the simulated attack. 

This simulation was just one of the ways that Airmen from across base exposed educators to the deployment process during Teachers Understanding Deployment Operations. 

The main goal of Operation TUDOS was to show these teachers what families, and more specifically children, go through when a parent deploys, said Master Sgt. Tory Gard, readiness non-commissioned officer for Cannon's Airman and Family Readiness Center. 

Sergeant Gard brought Operation TUDOS to Cannon after hearing of the program's success at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. 

"With four months of careful planning and coordination, we were able to make [Operation TUDOS] happen here," he said. 

"We put teachers through a simulated deployment line and took them to a simulated deployed location to give them a feel of not only what parents and military members go through in preparation for and while deployed our kids face emotionally, but also what our kids face emotionally," said Sergeant Gard. 

"[Operation TUDOS] gave teachers an inside look into the process, why we do what we do, and why kids react the way that they do," he said. "I hope they are able to take this experience and understand the emotional cycles that these kids might be facing." 

The teachers from Ranchvale and Mesa Elementary schools were selected by Rhonda Seidenwurm, the Superintendent of the Clovis school system, based on the high number of military students enrolled at those schools. 

The event was planned around getting teachers to understand that when our servicemembers deploy and leave Cannon they are entering a combat zone, a real war with real effects on our families, specifically on our children, said Sergeant Gard. 

"Kids may not be able to put their shoes on yet, but they know exactly how dangerous our jobs are," said Col. Timothy Leahy, 27th Special Operations Wing commander. 

"In Air Force Special Operations Command our deployments are more frequent and can feature 'hand-to-hand and eye-to-eye engagement' of the enemy," he added. 

This is much different than during the fighter wing days at Cannon and affects our children differently; it is imperative that our teachers recognize this, said Colonel Leahy.
 
"Our operations tempo is go, go, go," he said, "Our kids see this and get used to it, but every deployment is traumatic." 

After hearing remarks from Colonel Leahy and Sergeant Gard, teachers participating in Operation TUDOS then got a chance to process through a deployment line, one of the stops of which included a chance to hear from a mental health and family advocacy representative. 

"Teachers are our first line of defense," said Staff Sgt Abbey Brown, 27th Special Operations Medical Operations Squadron. "They spend more time with our kids than we do; so, if they understand the process and see a red flag, now they will know what resources they can use." 

Sergeant Brown, who briefed the teachers on coping mechanisms, stated that the five-stage deployment cycle is one of the toughest things affecting our children. 

"The reintegration stage is the most challenging; as the child gets used to the parent being gone, they readjust for the parent's return, and then have to cope with them leaving again," she said. 

Exposing teachers to this emotionally taxing cycle is a main focus of Operation TUDOS. 

"Education is prevention," said Sergeant Brown, "The goal is to give the teachers a good hands-on experience so that when a child comes to them with an issue, they've got the tools to help." 

The teachers, who were expecting a day of workshops and briefings, were surprised at the pace and breadth of the event, said Mandy Carpenter, a third-grade teacher from Mesa Elementary School. 

"To see it in action and see what these Airmen do was quite humbling," said Ms. Carpenter. "It gave us a unique perspective on the lives of our children. I had no idea what their parents go through when they are deployed." 

"This is a wonderful program," she said. "It works to create a partnership between the local education department and the Air Force Base." 

In the future, Cannon plans to expand the scope of Operation TUDOS by inviting teachers from other Clovis and Portales schools, said Sergeant Gard.

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