Whiteman children to experience "deployment" first-hand Published March 29, 2010 By Staff Sgt. Jason Barebo 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Team Whiteman will host its fifth simulated deployment line here April 24, 2010, for military dependants in grades Kindergarten through 12. Approximately 100 children will get a first-hand experience of what their parents must do before leaving for a deployment. The event, called Operation Spirit, will start by "recalling" the children for "duty." The children will process through a "deployment line" where they will receive a photo identification badge, military orders, dog tags, a "uniform of the day" (an Operation Spirit t-shirt) and a certificate of deployment, they will also participate in other deployment-related preparations. Afterward, the children will travel to the flightline to meet aircrews and see a C-130 Hercules, B-2 Spirit, A-10 Thunderbolt, T-38 Talon and an AH-64 Apache. They will then get have an opportunity to see what living in a tent is like, wear a flak vest and chemical gear to gain a sense of what it is like to be deployed. "Military children make the biggest sacrifice when their parents deploy," said Master Sgt. Karen Simpson, 509th Force Support Squadron. "Operation Spirit is a way to help them better understand what their parents go through during a deployment." Whiteman currently has more than 100 Airmen deployed all over the world and will be deploying more throughout the summer.