An Open Letter to all Military Brats The past month has brought us together because it was noticed that someone who doesnt know what its like to walk in our shoes had unilaterally decided that we should no longer be known as Military Brats, but rather Military Champs. For many years those of us who have strived to promote the culture and heritage of our unique lives have fought a battle for recognition by big name organizations. Those organizations have ignored us because they dont like the word Brat. We have largely gone about this somewhat silently, and with a great deal of frustration. The discovery of an attempt to change our identity supported by those organizations caused a natural emotional reaction and anger towards the Operation Champs company. Support of their misguided effort has felt like another slap in the face. When we turned 18 or 22, the military took back our ID cards and said goodbye. They meant it. Growing up Military IS our identity. And now we feel completely abandoned by organizations that hold a certain affinity to our culture. Many of you have recently discovered the community of Military Brats through Facebook. But the family has been together since the early days of the Internet, AOL, CompuServe, and various news groups which no longer exist due to the easier access of Websites, Blogs, and Facebook. Some groundbreaking resources were developed in those days, including Mary Edwards Wertschs book, Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress. This book finally clarified my own understanding of being a Military Brat and spurred the creation in 1997 of the Military Brats Registry at MilitaryBrat, designed to help us find our long lost friends. Operation Footlocker was created in those early days. If you arent aware of it, visit operationfootlocker. A few years later, Donna Musil produced the documentary film, Brats: Our Journey Home. TheBratFilm. Many books by and for Brats have been written in the past 20 years, including Marilyn Morris Once a Brat, Always a Brat. Many groups and organizations were formed. Some succeeded, some failed. All tried. Theres a lot of history to this movement. I understand fully the anger and frustration. I share it wholeheartedly. Many of you have jumped into a firestorm. Many have started new groups on Facebook with the idea that you could be the clearing house for everything, or lead everyone into battle. Its time to calm down, take a deep breath and know that things are being organized that cant be publicly announced yet. Those things include diplomacy, respect and meaningful conversation. They do not include attack or anger. I am grateful that the clear majority of Brats are passionate about whats happening and are making their voices heard. I wish you all could have been so vocal in the past 20 or so years. Maybe we would have received the support that is rightfully ours!. While the current effort has had the effect of alienating further some of the Champs supporting organizations as well as the Finks, it has also made clear that we will not stand for this poorly concocted attempt to marginalize and disenfranchise our culture. The key to success is to educate, not to argue or accuse. We will be heard, and we will not give up until we are understood, respected, and fully accepted as Military Brats, not Champs. Please continue to write about your experiences as a Military Brat. This will have a stronger impact than what might be construed as whining and complaining. We all have interesting stories to tell. To quote the theme of the Military Brats Registry podcast (available on iTunes), “Every Brat has a story...what’s yours?” Sincerely, Marc Curtis Military Brats Registry Proud Army Brat
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 06:22:31 +0000
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