Aviano deployment club helps children cope

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Justin Goodrich
  • Det. 8, Air Force News Agency
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AFNEWS) --  School faculty members here were recognized recently for their dedication to the children of deployed Airmen.

Aviano Air Base's Elementary School Deployment Club was formed to help kids understand and cope with a parent's deployment. 

This can have a tremendous positive affect on the stress involved for parents and children, school officials said.

The deployment club's final event of the school year was a pizza party. This party was special, and not just because it was the culmination of an entire year of meetings and events. Elementary student Brian Peterson presented the school staff an American flag flown at his father's deployment location in Iraq. It was in recognition for everything the teachers did during the year to make life easier for the students.

"It is in honor of our school," said Kris Kessler, the deployment club coordinator. Receiving this flag, "validated the importance of the community that's involved in deployments and it is for the kids for sure."

The students gave the flag to the principal to share with the whole school.

"The school will always remember when they look at the flag and know that it was flown during the Iraqi war and that makes it special," said Elizabeth Peterson, Brian's mother.

"As Brian grows older, this day will have a whole lot more meaning for him and right now I just think he was thrilled to be able to do this," Mrs. Kessler said.

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