What is a "Military Brat"?
A Military Brat is someone whose father or mother served in the Military, typically four or more years. Military families move frequently and Military Brats often attend numerous schools both within the United States and overseas.

Where did the term "Military Brat" originate?
It is not known how the term began, but is not considered to be a negative. Webster's New Third International Dictionary defines "brat" as "child of". A Military Brat is simply a child of the military.

What makes the Military Brat experience different from other people who moved around while growing up?
The Military Brat grows up in a "community within a community." Military bases usually are isolated in the midst of a civilian community. "Brats" often must interact with those not part of the military in a location that has a different culture than that of the military community where they live. The biggest difference between a child of the military and a child of the corporate world, is the possibility that a parent may be called to serve our country in a hostile, often life-threatening environment.

Do a large percentage of Military Brats go into Military service themselves?
About 25%* do serve in the military. It is not unusual to find military families where two or even three generations have grown up in the military and at least one child of the family decides to make a career.

*According to a 2001 poll conducted by the Military Brats Network.

Are you considered a Military Brat even if your parents have long since retired from the service?
"Once a Brat, always a Brat!" It is the common experience of living on military bases, numerous moves and attending different schools which establishes our unique identity. Our "neighborhood" is spread around the world, but our "community" exists worldwide.

How many Military Brats are there?
According to the Armed Forces Press Service, "There are just over 965,000 children ages 3-18 in active duty military families, according to Department of Defense statistics. Of these, about 110,000 are in Department of Defense overseas or stateside schools. The rest attended school in civilian communities around the United States."

This means that there are 8.77 Military Brats in civilian schools for every 1 attending a DoD (Department of Defense) school. We also know that there have been approximately 4 million Military Brats who have attended DoD schools. Potentially, there have been approximately 35 million Military Brats who have attended civilian schools.

What effect does going to many different schools, often in foreign countries, have on children growing up in military families?
Military Brats tend to have a greater appreciation for diverse cultures. It is not uncommon for a Military Brat to have a somewhat neutral accent since they are forced into quick adaptation to new environments and blending with the local community. Most Military Brats adapt quickly in any given situation.

The biggest negative effect is the difficult time in keeping in touch with friends because of the constant moves to new military bases. This is why the Military-Brats Registry and Military Brats Online have become so important to them.

Since Military Brats move around so much, do they have trouble living in one place after their mother or father retires from Military service?
Most Military Brats do admit to having the urge to pack up and move every three or four years. It is sometimes difficult for Military Brats to understand the concept of having roots in a community or town where several generations have lived their lives.

Why did you create the Military Brats Network?
The Military Brats Network is really two Military Brats with web sites who share the same goals: to give back something to the Military Brats community. Vann Baker created the Military Brats Online web site in 1995 as a resource for Military Brats, offering links to Military Brat schools, alumni organizations and offering visitors the ability to make announcements.

The Military-Brats Registry was created by Marc Curtis in 1997, and contains a rapidly growing database of over 57,000 Military Brats. The Registry offers Military Brats the opportunity to "register" themselves and to search the database for friends. The site began out of Marc's personal search for his elementary school classmates in El Paso, Texas.

Why combine your separate web sites?
Marc Curtis and Vann Baker decided to share web site traffic and linked to each other's sites. Besides their common background as Military Brats, both felt it would be better to combine forces rather than to duplicate efforts on both web sites.

The Military Brats Network also publishes a printed newsletter called On The Move. On The Move offers Military Brat readers news, announcements and stories about life growing up in the Military.

How has your web site benefited Military Brats?
Since Military Brats move around and really donıt have a place to call "home", the Military Brats Network web site serves as a "virtual community" for Military Brats everywhere. Hardly a day goes by without someone mentioning how they located a friend from high school or were able to connect with an alumni group because of the Military Brats Network. Or simply appreciated the fact that there was a web site which understood them.

How exactly do Military Brats reconnect using the Internet?
Military Brats are able to search and contact their long lost friends using the Military-Brats Registry and Military Brats Online web sites at no cost. Reunion information is available on the web site even for schools that have been closed. We also offer message boards and chatrooms so Military Brats can re-connect wherever they are.

Whatıs ahead for the Military Brats Network?
We have a strong commitment to the American Overseas Schools Historical Society and Archives located in Wichita, Kansas and their efforts to build a museum to contain the memorabilia of Military Brats. We are also supporting "Operation Footlocker," an effort to share some of that memorabilia by sending footlockers full of items around the United States for display at various events. We continue to do everything possible to help Military Brats reconnect with each other and their unique heritage.

Contact Information:
Vann Baker, 678-969-0448, vann@militarybrats.net, www.militarybrats.net
Marc Curtis, 909-335-1325, marc@militarybrats.net, www.militarybrats.net

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Mission Statement:

• Assist Military Brats to reconnect with their friends, their past and their heritage.
• Promote news and information affecting Military Brats everywhere.
• Keep Military Brats, both individuals and webmasters, aware of new Military Brats web sites.
• Promote greater public awareness of Military Brats as a culture within society at large.
• Preserve and document the Military Brats culture and heritage by supporting the American Overseas Schools Historical Society and Archives (AOSHS/AOSA) in Wichita, Kansas.

At some time in their life, most Military Brats feel a longing or desire to reconnect with their heritage. For many of us, this desire has been channeled into participation with alumni groups. For some of us, however, the desire to reconnect and share our experience with the rest of the world is very strong, but we may be without a simple means to reconnect with our past and friends.

Our History:
Several attempts have been made to form organizations to help Military Brats in various ways, with little to some success. For many brats it was not until the 1990's that we realized we could connect with others who shared our unique life experience. Much of this interest was fueled by the growth of America Online and other "pre-web" services, increasing use of e-mail and the continued growth of the World Wide Web (now called simply the "Internet"). This interest in reconnecting and sharing our experiences has grown from a trickle to a rushing stream.

After realizing there really was not a place online for Military Brats to reconnect and share their experiences of growing up in the Military, Vann Baker created Military Brats Online in the summer of 1995. The new web site was totally dedicated to all Military Brats, regardless of branch of service or whether brats lived overseas or stateside. Since the "World Wide Web" was relatively new and web sites were few and far between, Military Brats Online began with a few links to Military Brats schools, military bases and a handful of alumni organizations. In December of 1995 the Military Brats Online web site was launched.

Over the next few years the site added Military Brats announcements, articles, resources and the Military Brats alumni web sites area grew by leaps and bounds as more alumni groups created web sites and needed to promote their site.

While trying to locate classmates from 4th grade at Ft. Bliss, Texas, Marc Curtis realized the need for a central location where Military Brats could go to find their friends.

In 1997, Marc created and launched The Military-Brats Registry, an online database where Military Brats can both list themselves and search for others. Today the Registry remains a free resource for Military Brats and is supported by advertisers and sales of items in the Brat Store related to the unique experience of growing up in the Military.

Forming The Military Brats Network:
Realizing that more could be accomplished for the Military Brats community by working together, the Military Brats Network was founded upon a spirit of co-operation, trust and a common goal between Marc Curtis and Vann Baker.

Since 1997, Marc and Vann have demonstrated that by linking their web sites, sharing ideas and resources and by putting the greater cause of connecting brats with each other ahead of personal gain, both sites have experienced growth and recognition both within the Brat community and the general public. The Military Brats Network, encompassing both The Military-Brats Registry and Military Brats Online, serves the needs of all Military Brats, regardless of where they went to school or which branch of service they experienced.

In 1999, The Military Brats network launched a newsletter, On The Move, a print publication with stories about growing up in the military, alumni group reunions, news, events and other information of interest to all Military Brats.

Contact Information:
Vann Baker, 678-969-0448, vann@militarybrats.net, www.militarybrats.net
Marc Curtis, 909-335-1325, marc@militarybrats.net, www.militarybrats.net

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Vann Baker, Military Brats Online:
Vann's father re-enlisted in the U.S. Army in the early 1960's, having served in the Korean War. As his family moved where the U.S. Army ordered, Vann grew up and attended schools in Mannheim, Germany, El Paso, Texas, Columbus, Georgia, Fort Knox Kentucky and Bad Nauheim, Germany.

After graduation from Frankfurt American High School, (now closed due to the end of the Cold War), Vann returned to the U.S. and lived in Columbus, Georgia, where some of his relatives live and enrolled in what was then called Columbus College. He took a part-time job at a printing company which led to his career in graphic arts. In 1981 he moved to Auburn, Alabama and graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1984.

Vann worked as an art director for two years in Atlanta, then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1986 to work on a Masters degree in Photography. In 1987 he returned to Atlanta, Georgia and began freelancing in graphic design. His freelance work turned into a business during the next ten years he operated a small design company called Design Etc. During this time he discovered the world of modems and Bulletin Board Services including America Online and began connecting online.

In 1992 he started his own bulletin board system and through it learned of the Internet. In 1995 he created his first web site, Military Brats Online. Realizing that the really exciting changes in graphic design and business were happening online, Vann joined a small web design company and worked as both a web designer and business development manager. Today, he works for one of the top 25 web development companies in Atlanta as a project manager.

He devotes his evening and weekend time to Military Brats Online and edits a newsletter published by the Military Brats Network, On The Move.

He lives with his wife, Fia, in Duluth, Georgia.

Marc Curtis, Military Brats Registry:
Marc Curtis was the son of a US Army Sergeant. He was born at the Presidio of San Francisco, and lived on Army and Air Force bases around California, Texas, and Japan.

Marc Curtis is the co-owner of US Plan B, Inc., a television production company in Los Angeles that specializes in Public Relations video for the travel industry. His experience in television goes back over three decades as both a Freelance Video Photo Journalist and manager of news organizations.

He was also owner and General Manager of Southern California News Service from 1982 to 1994. His company was established as an independent news service covering breaking news and special interest stories throughout the United States. The company also serviced daily feeds and news gathering or downlinking by satellite transmission for various broadcast and non-broadcast news agencies.

From 1985 until a merger with Tribune Broadcasting in 1990, he was West Coast Bureau Manager for the Hollywood, California office of the Independent News Network. Here he managed an office staff and field crews, turning out dozens of news stories as well as shooting raw footage that was syndicated to news agencies around the world.

Marc was the chief cameraman for the PBS Front-line series documentary produced by Robert Drew titled For Auction--An American Hero. The program examined the auctioning of American family farms from the viewpoint of the auctioneer and won the DuPont-Columbia Award for Best Independent Documentary of 1986.

In 1997, Marc created the Military-Brats Registry as a free Internet resource for people who grew up in a military household. The web site rapidly became the central location for "lost brats" to find each other. The site is made possible by advertisers and sales of relevant items in the Military Brats Store.

Marc has been successful in locating many of the classmates he has searched for from his Fourth Grade class in 1960-61 at Ft. Bliss, Texas. His passion for helping others locate the friends they have wondered about has resulted in the phenomenal success of the Military-Brats Registry, with tens of thousands of registered members and reunions between them taking place daily.