Skoshi Warrior 2010

Col. Ricky Rupp, 18th Wing vice commander, welcomes nearly 200 children of Kadena servicemembers participating in 2010 Skoshi Warrior at Marek Park Sept. 25. The annual event gave children, ages 5-18, a chance to experience what their parents go through during deployments. (Air Force/Staff Sgt. Jason Lake)

Kids get 'Skoshi' taste of deployments

Published Sept. 27, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Nearly 200 children of servicemembers stationed here at Kadena participated in the 2010 Skoshi Warrior event at Marek Park Sept. 25.

More than 65 volunteers from various units and organizations around the installation also turned out to help show the children a lighthearted version of what their parents may do before going on a deployment.

The children, ages 5-18, got a chance to shoot paintballs at targets, low-crawl through an obstacle course and talk with some of Kadena's firefighters among other things.

"This was not just about the Air Force, we had children representing all services on island," explained Teresa Witschen, organizer of the event. "We wanted this mock deployment to give kids a small taste of what their parents go through."

Master Sgt. Tenny Sharp, 390th Intelligence Squadron, said her kids had a blast learning about what she and her husband, Chris, went through when they both deployed downrange.

"Last year we were both deployed for four months," she said. "I told my son to look at what we had to do - going through processing lines and doing all the paperwork before leaving. I think it was outstanding that our kids got all this for free."