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Review
There's a movie, Brats: Our Journey Home, about us out there.
The average brat attends 10 schools in 12 years - some move as many as 36 times.
They have no "hometowns" to go back to and rarely know their extended families.
When they turn 18 or graduate from college, their ID cards are taken away, so they can't go back to the military bases they grew up on.
Even if they did, there's no one there who knows them anymore.
One of the positive effects of this lifestyle is brats learn to get along with anybody, from anywhere.
They can move and take risks.
They're not afraid of change.
At the same time, some brats become "change junkies" and can't settle down.
Others have difficulties with intimacy, and lack a consistent sense of self.
Military personnel are given recognition, medals, and retirement compensation for serving their country.
On patriotic holidays, flags are flown and honor bestowed on them.
Occasionally, spouses are recognized, but the children are rarely mentioned.
As I reflect on my life as a brat, a life for which I never volunteered, I feel a gamut of emotions from pride to resentment.
The closest thing to a hometown I will ever have is a Navy base, on which I am no longer welcomed, except as a visitor.
Even when I visit, no one will be there to "ooh" and "aah" over me, or say , "You haven't changed a bit!"
I won't know anyone at the base and they won't know me.
They often say, "you can never go home again."
If you're a military brat, you surely cannot."
-- Gail Dunagan Morrison |
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