Children and teachers deploy in Operation KUDOS/TUDOS

by Airman 1st Class William Johnson

436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

8/25/2014 - DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Children and teachers of Team Dover got the chance take a step in Airmen's boots as they deployed in Operation KUDOS/TUDOS, Kids/Teachers Understanding Deployment Operations Aug. 20, 2014, at the Youth Center.

The event recreated the stresses of deploying and gave kids a better insight of what their parents go through when they are preparing a for a real-world deployment.

The children and teachers went through pre-deployment briefings and processed through a deployment line where they received their dog tags, mock travel cards and physical forms.

After processing through the deployment line, the kids were greeted by their Military Training Instructor who formed them into a formation and marched them to the track and field to participate in deployment exercises. The kids donned and doffed gas masks, received self-aid buddy care treatment, got their faces painted with war paint and went through an obstacle course.

Master Sgt. Arthur Bradshaw, 436th Force Support Squadron readiness non-commissioned officer, and Staff Sgt. Nicole Hawley, 436th Mission Support Group administrative assistant, organized the event and they said the operation was widely successful and they met their goal of showing children and teachers what it is like to deploy.

"We had a great turnout for today's operations and everything ran smoothly," said Bradshaw. "This was a big event that required a lot of resources from various agencies and everybody knocked it out of the park."

More than 160 children and 83 teachers from Major George S. Welch Elementary and Dover Air Force Base Middle school participated in the mock deployment. The participants were split up into 10 chalks.

The obstacle course was a favorite of Daniel Bradley, 7, who said he thought the whole day was really fun.

"I really liked crawling under the ropes with a NERF gun," he said. "I also liked getting my face painted."

Wendy Jones, Youth Center school age program assistant, led the first chalk and said events like Operation KUDOS/TUDOS is a constructive way to show children and teachers just a fraction of what military members go through when deploying.

"I think the children learned a lot when they were going through the numerous stations and exercises in the deployment area," said Jones. "My favorite part of the day was taking pictures and watching the kids be happy and just having a good time."

Operation KUDOS/TUDOS was staffed by over 100 volunteers from Team Dover and the operation received numerous sponsorships totaling more than $10,000.

"Today would not have been possible without all of our volunteers," said Hawley. "We'd like to give kudos to all of our KUDOS volunteers."