Kids find good company

Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune

Adam Jacobs, 14, of Roberts, Wis., spoke admiringly of his father, Dan, a helicopter pilot and chief warrant officer in the National Guard. Participants got to collaborate on multimedia presentations that showed their pride in their parents and how they dealt with their deployments.

A weekend event brought together children of parents deployed with the military.

By PATRICK KENNEDY, Star Tribune

Last update: April 13, 2008 - 11:32 PM

Sierra Stenger doesn't meet a lot of other kids who have shared her experience. But that doesn't mean she's alone. Sierra, 11, of Blaine, is one of approximately 17,000 Minnesota children with loved ones in the military who have recently been deployed overseas. Her mother, Capt. Jackie Stenger, returned in February from a 13-month deployment in Afghanistan. Her dad, Staff Sgt. Ron Stenger, was deployed in Bosnia in 2003-04.

Now, if they're deployed again, Sierra will have some new friends who understand exactly what she's going through.

That's because she was one of 15 children at the Speak Out for Military Kids retreat held this weekend at the Elk River Holiday Inn. The retreat was the fifth one this year sponsored by Operation: Military Kids, the U.S. Army's collaborative effort with state and community groups to help young people affected by deployments. Minnesota is one of 42 states with an Operation: Military Kids program.

Some retreat-goers had parents who will soon be deployed. Others have parents who have been through several deployments.

They all had the courage to go to a weekend event where, at the outset, they didn't know anyone.

"Almost all of [the kids] said they didn't want to go at first, but they all made friends at the end," Sierra said Sunday, just before seeking out one of her new friends for a goodbye hug.

The situation is easier on an active military base, where kids have the understanding and support of peers who are all in the same situation, said Ron Stenger, Sierra's dad.

Amber Runke, project specialist for Operation: Military Kids' Minnesota branch, helped coordinate the weekend.

"Sometimes [the kids] don't realize there are other kids in their community who have a family member deployed," she said.

The children were able to ask a military panel questions, share personal stories and collaborate on multimedia presentations that showed their pride in their parents and how they dealt with their deployments.

They put together slide shows or showed off videos, MySpace pages and blogs about their experiences, often using Operation: Military Kids' technology lab, which contains laptops, printers, scanners, laminators, DVD burners, digital cameras and video cameras.

Andrea and Maria Yurczyk, 15-year-old twins from Melrose, Minn., whose mom, Jennifer McCann, is likely to be deployed soon, closed out Sunday's event with a "human video" skit set to the song "Beauty From Pain" by Superchick in which they sought to show how mothers and daughters deal with separation.

Said Andrea of other young people at the retreat: "They seem so mature for what they've been through."

Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926

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