There are currently more than 1.6 million children that face unique challenges from their parent’s military experiences. April is designated as the Month of the Military Child in an effort to recognize the unique sacrifices, service, and resilience of military children and their families. Among the challenges that military children face are constant moves, family separations and potential exposure to the aftereffects of war. In light of the Month of the Military Child, Wagner’s own Jazlyn Lhotak shared her experience as a military child of a deployed soldier.

Mother of Jazlyn, Technical Sergeant Jennifer Lhotak of the 114th Fighter Wing Unit of the Air National Guard of Sioux Falls deployed at the end of August of 2024. In addition to her service in the Air National Guard for almost 15 years, Lhotak is also a counselor at Wagner Community High School. For Jazlyn, her mom’s deployment meant stepping into different roles at home having had to take over many of her mom’s household duties including keeping the house clean, buying groceries, and cooking. These are adult roles that Jazlyn never expected to have to fill as a high school freshman, but she fulfilled them just as her mom was fulfilling her duties as a soldier.

When asked if there was something that she could share with other children and families about her mom’s deployment, Jazlyn said that if someone does not have experience with having a deployed family member, then it can be very hard to understand what it truly feels like. One of the most challenging aspects of her mom’s deployment was not being able to talk to her as Jazlyn had before. Before her Mother’s deployment, they would use their evenings to talk about their day and what was going on in life. It took time to get used to it being just Jazlyn and her dad at home. Jazlyn also did not want her mom to worry, so she tried not to share with her some of the challenges that she was facing. Instead of relying on her mom, Jazlyn had to teach and learn things on her own. Even though some of these challenges tested Jazlyn, they have helped her to grow to be more independent and a stronger person.

Jazlyn found out that her mom was going to be deployed seven months before Lhotak left. She initially felt shocked, sad and full of questions upon hearing the news as it was something that Jazlyn never expected. Like any child of a deployed soldier, Jazlyn did not initially know where Lhotak was going to be stationed at during deployment or how safe of an area it would be. When Lhotak was first deployed to the Middle East, she was part of the shipping and receiving team located in a combat zone. In February 2025, Lhotak was moved to another Middle Eastern base where she continued to work as a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate until the end of her deployment.

Although Lhotak did not share all of her experiences with her daughter, Jazlyn knew there were times where her mom was in potentially unsafe conditions and had to do her best to keep busy and not dwell on those scary experiences.

Jazlyn described being a military child as a mix of emotions. While she is proud of her mom’s service, it has also been a difficult and emotional experience. On the tough days, she had to remember the sacrifices that her mom was making for her fellow Americans and country, and the impact she was having on other’s lives. Despite the challenges over the past eight months, Jazlyn feels it was all worth it. “Words can’t explain how proud I am of my mom, for what she is doing for our country. Our country is built on families’ sacrifices, the soldiers in uniform, and the heroes they become,” she shared.