MILITARY BRAT MEANING: EMBRACING ITS ORIGIN


By akirschbaum
Military brat meaning has many facets as soldier holds his little girl.

The Pentagon declares April the "Month of Military Child," with a former 'brats' on the name. Do you know what a military brat means or where the term originated? Or even just where the word "brat" came from? According to research explained to the Department of Defense, the word "brat" would not have been created without military families, specifically the kids of the British Army Soldiers, long ago. The phrase "British Regiment Attached Traveler" was given to families who traversed with a British Soldier in the pre-World War I. Thus, the acronym "BRAT" was known. According to Grace Clifton, a professor at Open University in the U.K., the term "barrack rat" is also a well-known term in the 1900s. It refers to the lives of children in the Army barracks. Below, we're diving deeper into the military brat meaning, term origin, and commonly faced struggles.Read next: Recognizing the Month of the Military Child

Looking Into the Military Brats

According to Clifton, who researched the topic, she came across a reference called "The Recruiting Officer," published in 1707. It contains a song about the Soldier's life. On the other hand, the researchers of the National Defense University mentioned that they could trace the "Army brat" back to 1942. It appeared in a publication on military slang, "The War Dictionary." The book described the military brat meaning about officers' children, as a word of endearment.The NDU researchers are still unsure of where and when the term initially surfaced. Some etymological sources, like the Oxford English Dictionary, traced the usage of the word "brat" in the 1500s in the Irish and Scottish languages.Despite this, the Pentagon is celebrating "military brats" in April as the "Month of the Military Child." Officials run social media posts to inspire other children. They also ask former "brats" to share their stories.

Military Brat Meaning and Life

Well-known actress and Love Is Blind host, Vanessa Lachey, embraces her past as a "military brat." One of the lead actresses on the hit TV show NCIS: Hawaii and a global ambassador for the United Service Organization shares the importance of recognizing kids who grow up the same way she did.She commends the parents for doing what they can and still manages to serve other people and the country for freedom. Lachey added that the military brat has no choice but to willingly, lovingly, and bravely accept the responsibility and go on as they grow older. Lachey was born in 1980 on Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. As she grew up, she attended seven schools and lived in different places, such as Nevada, Germany, South Carolina, California, Japan, and Florida. Her parents got divorced in 1986, but her stepfather was in the Air Force. Thus, she and her mother moved to Incirlik Air Force Base, Turkey, his stepfather's new assignment. Further, she remembers the fears she experienced every time the doorbell rang. Lachey added today that every time the doorbell rings, other kids will run to the door asking who's here? Who is it? Do we have a delivery in that? Is it pizza? Amazon? Is it a friend? As a child, she was always afraid whenever the doorbell rang. Lachey fears not wanting to answer it as it might bring bad news—the fear of not seeing her parents after kissing them goodbye. Her experiences as a military brat had made her realize the value of her time with her three children.Suggested read: How Military Mental Health Stigma Affects Family Treatment

Struggles of Military Brats

The Department of Defense mentioned more than 1.6 million military brats worldwide, and their lifestyle is far from ordinary children's. They are used to packing up their lives from time to time to settle in a new location, depending on where their parents will be stationed across the U.S. or at foreign bases. A typical military brat can expect to transfer schools six to nine times by the time they graduate high school. This was based on "What Becomes of America's Military Brats?" research by two daughters of an Air Force Vet. Also, the brats experience a struggle with their active member parents. This is especially true when they go away for temporary duty assignments or deployments.These military brats often struggle with more behavioral and mental health problems than their nonmilitary children counterparts. Specifically, this occurs at times of deployment. According to the studies done by Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and the Mayo Clinic, children of Vets may have socioeconomic edges such as health insurance, married caregivers, and higher income. They also are at risk of having behavioral disorders like ADHD and conduct problems.President Joe Biden wrote that military and Veteran children also act as the caregivers of loved ones who are ill, wounded, or injured. Plus, dealing with the unbearable pain of losing a parent. This month is a reminder of the military brat meaning and that being a military brat means sacrificing a lot for the country. Read next: Women Veterans Should Know About These Available Resources and Benefits


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