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Operation KUDOS

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Chip Slack
  • 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Cannon’s youngest Air Commandos were given the opportunity to participate in the bi-annual event, Kids Understanding Deployment Operations (KUDOS), April 30.

The morning-long event was designed to provide children a first-hand view of what their parents go through in order to prepare for a deployment; and similar to real-world military operations, children received an early recall order at 7 a.m.

After receiving a mission brief from Col. Ben Maitre, 27th Special Operations Wing commander, the 97 children who participated headed out to their “deployed location” and interacted with various base supporting agencies.

“This event is to remind you just how important you are to our mission,” Maitre said. “You play a major role in making sure things still get done here at home while your parents are away. Sometimes, we will have weeks or months to prepare for a deployment, and sometimes just hours; it is all about readiness and making sure we can defend our nation at a moment’s notice. When your parents know how much you care about them, they can really focus on the mission overseas, so they can then come back home to you.”

Military Working Dogs, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Emergency Management, Opposing Forces and several static displays were made available to highlight their extensive mission-supporting capabilities; children were even given samplings of MREs to enjoy during their tour.

Upon departure from their “deployed location” the youngest members of Team Cannon were ceremoniously welcomed back by their families and wing leadership, who were holding miniature flags and not short on hugs for these young honorary Air Commandos.

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