Operation Purple Camp Published Aug. 4, 2008 By Capt. Rob Gleghorn 30th Logistics Readiness Squadron VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- About two months ago at a staff meeting in the 30th Logistics Readiness Squadron, we were all asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to be the Vandenberg Air Force Base lead for Operation Purple Camp. All we were told is that it was a camp for the children of deployed parents. We were told they wanted someone who had kids between 7-13 years old and everyone looked at me. Then we were told it should be someone who had recently deployed. Again, everyone looked at me, since I had just returned. Thirdly, we were told it should be someone who was highly motivated. At that point I said, "Hey, two out of three ain't bad." Everyone laughed of course, but I had no idea what I had just gotten myself into. As the weeks passed, I learned that OPC was a program of the National Military Family Association, partnered with the Sierra Club and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, all three of which help make these camps free for our military kids. I also discovered that the program was "purple" because every branch was represented with more than 100 kids in attendance. To add icing to the cake, we had one of the camps right in our own backyard this year at Camp Whittier, an awesome camping spot just outside Lake Cachuma. After weeks of planning, it was finally time to let the rubber meet the road. I had been camping lots of times, but I had never "been to camp" before, so I didn't know what to expect. I was impressed with the 18-22-year-old staff right off the bat. Registration and lodging went really fast and within 15 minutes we were on a big grassy field playing games with scores of kids from around the state. That night was our first campfire and my first introduction to some "serious nature songs." To my surprise, they had a good message and were sung by a very talented young lady. Day one was complete, no one was injured and I had eaten some real food. Life was going to be OK after all. The rest of the week was spent hiking, swimming, playing games (like capture the flag), climbing a huge rock wall, tie-dying some T-shirts, making posters for deployed troops, as well as several team building exercises. Basically from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day we were doing all kinds of energetic stuff! Frankly, it wiped me out, but it was a good kind of tired ... one that mattered. My biggest piece as the Vandenberg guy, however, was still to come on Wednesday, Military Theme Day. My rotation station was to give the kids a PowerPoint briefing on the lessons learned from my own deployment. (Don't worry, I made it fun and had nothing but pictures). I showed them photos of what Baghdad is really like, what my kids were doing while I was deployed and even pictures of the bad guys. For example, one photo was a squirrel holding a Bazooka! Anyhow, it was lots of laughter, but most of all, the message I wanted them to hear was threefold: to be strong, to be faithful and to enjoy their lives. If they could do these three things, they would actually be helping their deployed mothers and fathers. That seemed to register well as I kept asking the question, "What would help your moms and dads most - being depressed and moping around the house all day, or keeping a smile on your face and doing what's right all day, every day?" I think they got it. Friday was carnival day... you guessed it - more games, more activity (only this time with lots of water involved) and lots-o-cleaning to do. I helped as much as I could since these kids were so tired they were borderline ready to go into a coma. (I was ready to "flat-line" myself, but I had to keep my game face on and remain highly motivated.) The last day, our own wing commander, Col. David Buck, came down and gave a farewell speech to the kids and parents. His message was similar to mine: Keep "fighting the good fight," be proud of what mom and dad are doing, and know that we are all in this together. All in all it was a good week, a heavy-duty week, and a much-needed week of encouragement for them ... and me. Have you ever done something that sapped your soul and body but was worth every minute? This was Operation Purple Camp. I put in a lot of hours that week, but more importantly, I hope it meant something to the kids. I hope they really understand what their parents are doing for them and the rest of the country and that we really are all one big "purple" family in this thing together ... and we will win. My encouragement to you is the same as what the kids got: Be strong in heart, be faithful to your family, your boss, your friends, and enjoy your lives to the fullest, plus one additional thing - be intentional about raising your kids in the way they should go. As Frederick Douglas wrote, "It's easier to build strong children than to mend broken men." Operation Purple Camp did just that. It was about building stronger children, and I for one was both glad and privileged to be a part of it.