A military brat (

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conver ...

military slang Military slang is an array of colloquial terminology used commonly by military personnel, including slang which is unique to or originates with the armed forces. In English-speaking countries, it often takes the form of abbreviations/acronyms or d ...

) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

David C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revised Edition. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2009. and

cultural identity Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct cultur ...

.Chatterjee, Smita
"Defense Kids In India: Growing Up Differently"
''Loving Your Child'' online magazine, December 2010.Ender, Morton. ''Military Brats and Other Global Nomads''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. Suarez, Theresa Cenidoza

ch. 4. University of California, San Diego, 2008. 130 pages, 3320357 A military brat's childhood or adolescent life may be immersed in

military culture Military tradition is the practices associated with the military or soldiers such as the styles of military uniform, drill, or the music of a military unit. In the United States In the United States, military tradition can refer simply to a fathe ...

to the point where the mainstream culture of their home country may seem foreign or peripheral. In many countries where there are military brat subcultures, the child's family moves great distances from one non-combat assignment to another for much of their youth. For highly mobile military brats, a mixed cultural identity often results, due to exposure to numerous national or regional cultures. Within military culture, the term ''military brat'' is not considered to be a

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

(as in describing a

spoiled child A spoiled child or spoiled brat is a derogatory term aimed at children who exhibit behavioral problems from being overindulged by their parents or other caregivers. Children and teens who are perceived as spoiled may be described as "overindulged ...

), but rather connotes affection and respect.Cranston, CA
"Challenging Contemporary Ecocritical Place Discourses: Military Brats, Shadow Places, and Homeplace Consumerism"
''Indian Journal of Ecocriticism'', V. 2, 2009. pp. 73–89. ISSN 0974-2840 War-related family stresses, including long-term war-related absence of a parent, as well as war aftermath issues, are common features of military brat life in some countries, although the degree of war-involvement of individual countries with military brat subcultures may vary.

Life and culture

A common pattern in these subcultures is a heavy childhood and adolescent immersion in military culture to the point of marginalizing (or having significant feelings of difference in relation to) one's national civilian culture.Enloe, Cynthia H. ''Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives'', p. 186. University of California Press; 1st edition, 2000. This is characterized by a strong identification with military culture rather than civilian culture. Another term for this is the "militarization of childhood". In some countries where military brat subcultures occur, there may also be an

itinerant An itinerant is a person who travels habitually. Itinerant may refer to: *"Travellers" or itinerant groups in Europe * Itinerant preacher, also known as itinerant minister *Travelling salespeople, see door-to-door, hawker, and peddler *Travelli ...

or modern

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic lifestyle involved as the child follows their military parent(s) from base to base, in many cases never having a hometown (or at least going through very long periods of being away from one's home town). It also can involve living outside of one's home country at or near overseas military bases in foreign cultures, or in regions within one's home country far from one's home region, along with experiences of significant cultural difference in either case. Highly mobile military brat subcultures have also been described as modern nomadic or

peripatetic Peripatetic may refer to: *Peripatetic school, a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece *Peripatetic axiom * Peripatetic minority, a mobile population moving among settled populations offering a craft or trade. *Peripatetic Jats There are several ...

subcultures.

Use of term

The term "military brat" occurs within military cultures in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(also called "Cantonment Kids"),

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(also called "Base Brats"),

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Military-dependent subcultures, also known as

camp followers Camp followers are civilians who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the wives and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have histori ...

, have existed (under various other names) in many parts of the world for thousands of years.Holmes, Richard; ed (2001). ''The Oxford Companion to Military History''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .

Feelings of difference, military brat identity versus civilian identity

Many military brats report difficulty in identifying where they belongEidse, Faith; Sichel, Nina. '' Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing up Global'', 1st edition. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2003. (due to a lifestyle of constantly moving, and also immersion in military culture, and in many cases, also foreign cultures, as opposed to the civilian culture of their native countries, while growing up) and frequently feel like outsiders in relation to the civilian

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

of their native countries.Caforio, Giuseppe. Kümmel, Gerhard; Purkayastha, Bandana (eds.) ''Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution: Sociological Perspectives''. Emerald Group Publishing, 2008. The home countries of a number of Military Brat

s have highly mobile (modern

Nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic) lifestyles, or at least significant overseas (or distant-internal) assignments for career military families and their children and adolescents while growing up, including

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and the

.Williams, Rudi
"Military Brats Are a Special Breed"
. Washington, D.C.: American Forces Press Service (US Department of Defense Publication), 2001. These military-dependent

s are generations old. Some ex-military dependents have found that their mobile upbringing has been massively influential in determining their eventual career in adulthood. One example of this is British actress/comedian

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

who discussed her childhood as an RAF dependent in an interview with Radio 4. She stated that she felt that the need to make new friends every few years was one of the reasons she discovered her talent for comedy. She also discusses this aspect of her life in her autobiography. American military brats have also been identified as a distinct American subculture. Musil, Donna. ''Brats: Our Journey Home'' (documentary film). Atlanta Georgia: Brats Without Borders Inc., 2005.

References

External links

{{commons category, Military brats
Military Brats Registry
(Social media site for military brats)
BRATS: Our Journey Home (The First Documentary About Growing Up Military)Brats Without Borders, Inc.
a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
Military Brat Life
remembering a different life living on bases and posts in the U.S. and overseas.
‘Military Brat:’ Do you know where the term comes from?
Childhood Childhood-related stereotypes Adolescence Children in war Family Itinerant living Military life Military slang and jargon Military sociology Military terminology

Life and culture

Use of term

Feelings of difference, military brat identity versus civilian identity

See also

References

Further reading

External links