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For military children, service to the country can shape childhood in ways their classmates and neighbors may never fully see.

Deployments can mean missed birthdays and empty seats at school events. Military orders can bring another move, another school and another round of goodbyes. Through it all, many military children continue earning strong grades, volunteering, leading organizations, competing in sports and finding ways to strengthen the communities they temporarily — or permanently — call home.

Now, San Antonio-based Operation Homefront is asking families and communities across the country to help make sure those young people are recognized.

Nominations are open for the 2027 Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year Award, the 19th year of the national program honoring the resilience, leadership and accomplishments of America’s military children. The nomination period runs through Dec. 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Central Time.

Seven Military Children Will Represent the Armed Forces

Operation Homefront will select seven Military Child of the Year recipients, representing the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and National Guard.

Nominees must be ages 13 to 18 at the time of nomination and legal military dependents. Operation Homefront considers qualities including scholarship, volunteerism, leadership and extracurricular involvement, along with the way nominees have responded to the realities of military family life.

Anyone can submit a nomination, meaning recognition does not have to begin within the child's immediate family. Parents and relatives, friends, teachers, counselors, coaches and clergy are among those who can nominate an eligible military child.

For communities with military families, that creates an opportunity to recognize a teenager whose accomplishments might otherwise be known only to the people closest to them.

“Each of our nation’s 1.6 million military children carries a story of strength, sacrifice, and service that deserves to be recognized,” said retired Rear Adm. Alan Reyes, President and CEO of Operation Homefront. “Having experienced military life as a child and having raised two daughters in a military family, I understand the challenges and uncertainty these young people often face through circumstances beyond their control. Serving quietly behind the scenes, they demonstrate leadership, perseverance, and character well beyond their years. Their actions, accomplishments, and support for others make a lasting difference wherever military life takes them. The Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year Award shines a spotlight on their journeys and the contributions they make along the way.”

The Department of Defense has previously estimated the U.S. military child population at approximately 1.6 million, including children in active-duty and reserve component families.

What Military Child of the Year Winners Receive

The recognition goes well beyond a certificate or title.

All seven 2027 Military Child of the Year recipients are expected to travel to the Washington, D.C., area for the Military Child of the Year Awards Gala in April 2027. Each recipient will receive $10,000, a laptop computer and additional donated gifts.

Operation Homefront said it will provide airfare and lodging for each recipient and two family members to attend the gala and spend several days in the Washington, D.C., area.

Previous winners have also had opportunities to meet national military leaders and other notable guests associated with the program.

The scope of what these young people accomplish can be striking. According to Operation Homefront, the seven 2026 award recipients recorded more than 4,800 volunteer hours combined during the year before their nominations while collectively experiencing 35 military moves.

Those numbers help illustrate what the award is intended to recognize: not simply what a military child has endured, but what that young person has continued to accomplish while adapting to military life.

Victoria Vanacore, the 2026 Military Child of the Year representing the Coast Guard, described what that recognition meant to her.

“It felt meaningful being named Military Child of the Year, not just for the challenges I’ve faced as a military child, but for everything I’ve accomplished because of them. So much of my childhood happened behind the scenes, the hard mornings without my parents home, constant moves, deployments, and responsibilities that most kids never have to think about. Being acknowledged for those experiences makes me feel understood in a way that is rare. But what means even more is being recognized for the person I’ve become because of them – resilient, adaptable, responsible, and driven,” Vanacore said.

How Operation Homefront Supports Military Families Beyond the Award

The Military Child of the Year Award is one part of a much broader effort by Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit headquartered in San Antonio that has served military families since 2002.

The organization’s mission is to build strong, stable and secure military and veteran families by supporting their financial, emotional and social well-being. Its programs are designed in part to address short-term hardships before they grow into more persistent challenges for a military household.

Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing programs, and recurring family support programs. Its initiatives include the Back-to-School Brigade, Holiday Meals for Military, Star-Spangled Babies, Holiday Toy Drive, Homefront Celebrations and Military Child of the Year.

The nonprofit reports that 85% of its expenditures go toward programs and services supporting military families. Operation Homefront also says its work has included nearly $50 million in Critical Financial Assistance relief through more than 62,000 fulfilled requests, more than 630,000 backpacks with school supplies distributed to military children and more than 230,000 holiday meals provided to military and veteran families.

That larger mission provides important context for the Military Child of the Year program. Supporting a service member often means supporting the spouse, children and family members navigating military life alongside them.

Know an Outstanding Military Child? Here’s What Happens Next

For parents, teachers, counselors, coaches and neighbors who know a military-connected teenager making a difference, the immediate takeaway is simple: nominations are open now and close Dec. 1, 2026.

Eligible nominees must be legal military dependents and between 13 and 18 years old when nominated. Those advancing as semifinalists will be required to provide additional documentation, including two letters of recommendation and military dependency verification.

Nominations and complete eligibility information are available through OperationHomefront.org/military-child-of-the-year.

For military families who are accustomed to service taking place quietly, the annual award offers communities a chance to turn their attention toward another part of that story: the children adapting, contributing and growing alongside the men and women who serve.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for more community resources, family opportunities and updates affecting military and veteran families.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.