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by Paul Gorman
WAUTOMA, Wisc. - More than 100 children of Wisconsin military members gathered at Camp Lakota June 19-22 for the Wisconsin National Guard’s Badger Youth Camp.
The annual event, coordinated by the Wisconsin National Guard’s Child and Youth Services office, provided attending military youth with a four-day experience designed to foster leadership, teamwork and resilience.
“We call this our premier military simulations and quotations camp,” relayed J.D. Engelhardt, child and youth lead coordinator.
In addition to traditional camp activities like swimming, canoeing and archery, Englehart explained that campers also participate in military-themed experiences designed to help them better understand their parents’ service. These activities create space for meaningful conversations about the challenges of having a parent deployed overseas and offer opportunities to connect with peers who share similar experiences.
Master Sgt. Joel Nyenhuis, a full-time aircraft maintenance technician with the Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing in Madison, is also the military first sergeant for the unit’s force support squadron. During Badger Youth Camp, however, he used his past U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force experience to take on the role of wilderness survival instructor.
As the parent of two first-time campers, he was acutely aware of the sense of belonging that the youth camp can have on military children.
“I want my kids to have the opportunity to be involved with other kids who are part of that military family,” Nyenhuis said. “To know that they’re not alone.”
Airman 1st Class Melanie Laflin, an airfield management specialist with the Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee, volunteered to help facilitate activities at the camp craft lodge.
As a military dependent herself, Laflin attended a similar youth camp in Washington state before moving to Wisconsin and discovering the Badger Youth Camp.
“When we moved here, youth camp allowed me to continue to connect with other military kids,” Laflin said. “It is something I looked forward to every year.”
According to Laflin, returning to participate as an adult volunteer has been a truly rewarding opportunity – one that she would highly recommend to any military member.
“I think all the team building and resilience training is amazing,” said Engelhardt. “But the bonds they form with other military kids, letting them know they’re not alone, is the most significant part of the experience.”
To learn more about Badger Youth Camp and other opportunities available to military youth throughout the state, visit the Wisconsin National Guard Child and Youth Program Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/WINGYouthProgram
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