Growing up Military: Bryana’s Story

During the month of April — the Month of the Military Child — the Defense Department celebrates military children, underscoring the important role they play in the armed forces community. Affectionately called military brats, there are more than 1.6 million military children who face challenges and unique experiences as a result of their parents' service.

Bryana Allen, Team RWB’s Associate Director of Content and Channel Strategy, is a proud military brat from a family rooted in military service. Her mother, father, and stepparents have collectively served over 100 years and her extended family has connections to the military going back to WWI. 

Bryana credits a foundation of resilience and adaptability to growing up with both parents in the military. When Bryana and her younger sister were born, her parents were dual-military at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA. When her dad deployed for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Bryana was in kindergarten and her sister was only a few months old. Her mom took Bryana to school and her sister to the Langley CDC (Child Development Center) and still managed to make it to work on time. 

Growing up, Bryana moved from Virginia, to Nebraska, to Germany, and Washington but her most notable move was to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. She was there from sixth through ninth grade. In Germany, she learned two lifelong lessons. The first: kindness needs little translation. The second: a military family is an extended family.

Bryana learned that kindness needs little translation when her kitten, Duchess, didn’t come home one summer evening. She walked through her German neighborhood using the few words she knew, asking if anyone had seen her. The next day, a local woman rang the doorbell with tears in her eyes. She said “Schwarze und weiss katze,” and indicated with a gesture that Duchess had been hit by a car. 

The woman took Bryana by the hand and led her to Duchess, wrapping her in a hug and crying with her. In that moment, Bryana learned that people, no matter where they are in the world, are fundamentally good and want to help others. 

The second lesson didn't come from a distinct moment but rather from the support their close friends offered when their parents were away on TDY (temporary duty travel). It came from the extra birthday and holiday celebrations with extended family; at times it was dinner, games, and karaoke with airmen who couldn’t go home themselves. 

As a military child, Bryana saw firsthand the sacrifices required to be part of the U.S. Armed Forces. She is very proud of her parents and feels their service was so much more than just a job. 

“Defending and maintaining our nation's freedom isn't free. There's a lot more personal sacrifice involved with military service than there is in a civilian job. I wish more people realized that and were more appreciative of our military and veterans,” said Bryana.

She has a vivid memory of hearing gunfire in the background of a tape sent by her father from deployment during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm for her sixth birthday. She knew even then there was the possibility her father might not come home, and it’s something that brings tears to her eyes even now. 

Her mom became Chief at 20 years, breaking barriers as a woman in the Air Force. She also has two master's degrees and could've commissioned but she never lost sight of her goal to be a female Chief. When she retired, it was as the Commandant of the Keesler NCO (Non Commissioned Officers) Academy. 

She’s immensely proud of all her military family has accomplished, though they’d all say they were just doing their jobs.

Bryana feels very fortunate to be a military brat, having been to places and experienced things that most people only dream about. It’s shaped her into the person she is today and she wouldn't change that for the world. 

On 15 April, Bryana will pay tribute to her parents and all of our nation’s military children by completing Team RWB’s Mil Brat AMRAP Monthly Mission, a 30-minute workout with burpees, push-ups, and more.