2024/Madison-

In Japan and other countries, there's a thing called a military child, and I’m one of them, kind of. Being a military child doesn’t mean being in the army (it’s still related to the army, but not quite). That’s called a military connected child.

Being a military child includes moving, on-base schools, and more. Moving as a military child is not fun. After a school year, usually that family moves to another country or base, it’s called “PCSing.” I’ve been to one base, SHA Japan. When you move, you may be sad because you’re going to miss your friends. On the bright side, you get to see different countries when PCSing.

When I was seven or eight, I moved to Japan. My dad found a new job here in Japan and I went to a school on-base. I don’t live in SHA, though, I live off-base. I’ve been in Japan since third grade and I like Japan. On base, people may go out to visit friends or play with them, but I can’t unless I ask if I can go on base. Kids can also go to the Shoppette. The Shoppette is like a convenient store.

When you move, people won’t know the language you speak because it’s a different country. Unless it’s a language that’s common and a lot of people know, they wouldn’t understand yours. I can only speak English and a little Japanese, so a lot of people should know what I’m saying.

Being a military connected child is pretty fun. I kind of like being a military connected child because of my friends here, but they’ll just move away after a while. I both like and dislike being a military connected child.