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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - A small group of soldiers from the 101st
Sustainment Brigade “Lifeliners” volunteered for an important
mission. This mission requires them to agree to lock up their cars
and cell phones. They must break contact with their friends and
families. For a week, they will live in modest cabins filled with
other people at Camp Hinsch near Fort Campbell and cannot leave.
Yet, they are enjoying every minute of it.
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Volunteer camp counselor Pvt. Matthew Watson, 372nd Inland Cargo
Transfer Company, 129th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st
Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), leads
the blue team in a timed team challenge to lower the hoop to the
ground in unison without dropping it on July 11, 2013 at Fort
Campbell, Ky. Soldiers, the Fort Campbell Survivor Outreach
Services, Fort Campbell Armed Services YMCA, and the community work
together to make Camp SOS a success. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Leejay
Lockhart, 101st Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs)
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The mission is being camp counselors for the Fort
Campbell Survivor's Outreach Services Camp SOS where they
work with children who have lost a parent in the line of
duty. It's a no fail mission and it has one major objective
– make sure the kids have fun.
“I've been smiling
since I came in,” said Spc.
Raven Clark, one of the volunteers from the Headquarters and
Headquarters Detachment, 129th Combat Sustainment Support
Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault). This is her first time at summer
camp and she says it's been a great experience.
Half
way through the camp, she said that they have already taken
the campers bowling and went to a water park. The counselors
also took the kids fishing and had plans to take everyone to
Chattanooga, Tenn. to visit the Tennessee Aquarium.
“Monday we went bowling,” she said with a chuckle. “I'm
really not good at Bowling. The kids beat me!”
However, since the kids were having fun it was worth it to
her she said.
There are 20 campers between the ages
of 7 through 13 at the camp. Ten have attended the camp
before and ten are attending for the first time according to
Suzy Yates, Survivor Outreach Services support coordinator.
The campers and counselors are on five different teams,
red, blue, orange, green, and yellow. They have daily team
challenges, the counselors play different games with the
kids at scheduled times during the day, and everyone has
some free time before turning in for the night where both
camper and counselor gets a chance to learn more about each
other. However, both campers and counselors stay flexible
and adjust to any changes without issue said Clark.
Another volunteer Pvt. Matthew Watson, from the 372nd Inland
Cargo Transfer Company, 129th Combat Sustainment Support
Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault), is also attending summer camp for
the first time. He loved the different challenges the teams
compete in.
“I like the team challenges, it keeps the
morale high,” said Watson. “It's kind of like I'm reliving
my childhood right now.”
As a counselor he looks
after the kids, guides them, makes sure they respect each
other and ensures everyone has fun. He volunteered in part
because he has six nieces and nephews and he thought this
would be a good experience. He said that while it makes him
miss his family it's also helped him be more open and
outgoing. He said that it has also made me more alert
because he has a responsibility to keep the campers safe.
Each counselor has an assigned camper. Watson's camper
is Hunter Denileon, 12, who like Watson and Clark is also at
summer camp for the first time. He says that he's been
having a great time and that the water park was his favorite
part of camp.
“They had two big slides that I really
enjoyed,” said Hunter. “One was a raft slide and the other
was a body slide.”
Although the camp has a military
and family life consultant on site to providing support,
both counselors agreed that the children were having a great
time and that it was hard to tell that these children had
lost a loved one. Clark said that the entire experience had
touched her.
“A smile on the kids face made me light
up,” she said. “I like to see them happy to help them with
their loss.”
Shirley West, director of Armed Services
YMCA at Fort Campbell, said that Camp SOS is unique amongst
summer camps on Army installations. It is the only camp that
focuses on having fun. She commended the camp counselors.
“We have had some very amazing counselors that have
helped us to get in there, work with these kids and they can
relate to them,” said West. “One of the things kids remember
is their counselor and that's what I try to instill in these
counselors, make sure you're a kid. Be a kid with them.”
Although a grant from Newman's Own Foundation helps to
fund the camp, West said a number of businesses and the
surrounding communities have been “awesome” in supporting
the camp. She also thanked Fort Campbell for all it's done.
“We appreciate the people who made it possible, we
appreciate the installation for their support and the units
for helping us by providing and allowing the soldiers to
come help us,” said West. “If we didn't have their support ...
we couldn't do what we do.”
The children's smiles and
laughter demonstrates that these soldiers are accomplishing
their mission. The counselors were glad to be a part of Camp
SOS and both were hopeful that they could be part of Camp
SOS next year.
“It's a very good experience for me,”
said Clark. “I would love to do this again.”
By U.S. Army Sgt. Leejay Lockhart
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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