How Many BRATS Are There?

How many BRATS are there? The truth is, nobody knows. In a country obsessed with polls and statistics, neither the Department of Defense (DoD) nor anyone else has kept a running count of the number of children raised in the U.S. military over the years. You can't tell just by looking at them. BRATS are every race, every age, every religion. BRATS are everywhere. They're your spouses, your parents, your grandchildren, your co-workers, and your neighbors.

BRATS screening for Daegu American High School, Korea.

There are currently 1.8 million children in active-duty military families. The DoD school system estimates that it has educated another 4-7 million children overseas. But that's only 20-30% of the total brat population, so there are at least 15 million brats in America. That's not even including all of the other TCKs or "Third Culture Kids," who grew up in multiple countries and cultures in foreign service, missionary, NGO, and international corporate families.

Brats and TCKs are one of the largest cultural groups in America, including President Barack Obama, but most people don't even know the subculture exists!