The defense secretary welcomed more than 8,300 children of Pentagon employees yesterday during "Bring Your Child to Work Day."
The event was designed to help children experience the workforce and showcase different roles within the Defense Department.
During a mock press briefing in the afternoon where children had the chance to become reporters for the day, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Sean Parnell talked with more than 60 of those children about what the Pentagon is and what their parents do there for the nation.
"Their mission is to protect our country [and] ensure global security — which involves a lot of crazy and complicated things — but it's all about making your life better and ensuring that you live in a country that's free," Parnell said. "You see them go to work every single day, but today, you get a unique opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes. The work they do requires incredible dedication and skill. It's something to really be proud of. You should all be very, very proud of your parents."
Both Parnell and Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson hosted mock briefings and answered questions from children about the history of the Pentagon building, the department's mission and how Pentagon leaders work with capable allies and partners.
Wilson reminded the children of the importance of their parent's work.
"You might not think about it often, but your parents are involved in something really special here at the DOD," she said. "They work super hard every single day, long hours, to keep people safe and to protect our country. And they're part of a global team doing some awesome, amazing things."
Pentagon tour guides provided tours to over 1,000 guests throughout the day. Wilson encouraged the little visitors to explore the building with their parents.
"Walk throughout the hallway, see all of the awesome stuff we have to offer, learn something new, and use this opportunity firsthand to see what your parents do when they leave home and come to the office every day," she said.
In the Pentagon courtyard, all five services within DOD, along with the Coast Guard, provided opportunities for children to learn more about the department. There were displays of robots used in explosive ordnance disposal, night vision equipment, drones, and various other displays involving STEM education.
John Freeman and Isaac Peugh, both with Program Executive Office Soldier out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, manned a booth in the Pentagon courtyard where they demonstrated an integrated visual augmentation system being developed for the Army.
"What we're working with right here is a [helmet] system that has numerous arrays of sensors on a heads-up display that enables situational awareness and communications," Freeman said. "You're able to see where your teammates are within the battlefield. You're able to communicate and create mission packages and plan routes."
Peugh said more than 400 kids came, though many seemed more interested in trying on the high-tech equipment than asking about it.
"We didn't get too many questions, just there's a lot of oohs and aahs from the kids," he said.
The PEO Soldier booth had a constant flow of kids — considering most of the equipment was wearable.
"I think it's safe to say that our station was one of the more popular ones," he said. "The kids were getting to put on augmented reality, night vision and thermal systems."
New technology, like what was on display from the Army, might be more commonplace for the young people who marveled at it in the Pentagon than for some of the older soldiers in the Army right now, Peugh said.
"The buttons that we have here, there's only a few buttons, to make sure that soldiers aren't overwhelmed with information, buttons or programs," he said. "It's all very simple, very intuitive. And by the time these kids are coming in the Army and joining the close-combat force and wearing these things, there will be no issues with the user interface."
"Bring Your Child to Work Day" is an annual event designed to help children experience the workforce and showcase different roles within the Defense Department. This year's event theme was "For a New Generation," and the goal was to inspire children to explore future career paths, provide exposure to military and civilian roles, and teach them about the nation's defense community.