Do you think military children carry the rank of their fathers?

SFC Christopher Taggart — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 16:07:30 -0400

In the twenty-plus years in the military, I have seen and observed a lot. Just like military wives, do you think military children carry the rank of their fathers or mothers when they interact with their peers? As children grow up, they observe and realize where their parents are on the rank structure because they’ve been told by other adults or by other children, who haven’t learned tact when interacting with people. It hasn’t happened to me because I’ve never had children in the military.

Response by SGT Lee Jamison made Mar 31 at 2018 4:15 PM

SGT Lee Jamison — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 16:15:27 -0400

I do not believe they do. In my personal opinion we raise our children to be their own person, this is counteractive to children carrying the ranks of their parents. They must make their own way in life, with their parents love and support of course, but as their own person.

Response by CW4 Guy Butler made Mar 31 at 2018 4:44 PM

CW4 Guy Butler — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 16:44:10 -0400

No. Matter of fact, they rarely if ever discuss their parent’s rank. They don’t want to deal with the “fraternization politics”.

Disclaimer: I’ve got a 15 year old daughter in Ft Knox High School who’s got friends over to dye eggs, so I asked. Turns out parents include a LTC, SFC, and a SSG.

Response by SGT Joseph Gunderson made Mar 31 at 2018 5:04 PM

SGT Joseph Gunderson — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 17:04:52 -0400

No. No. And no. No one has rank except the service member. Not the spouse. Not the kids. I could not care any less about who your husband or daddy/mommy is.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 31 at 2018 5:38 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 17:38:52 -0400

While I was in Security Forces, I have ran across a few kids who say things like "Do you know who my dad is" Or "may dad is a (insert rank)". A few times my response was "No I do not know who your dad is. But I'll find out when he comes to pick you up from the Security Forces building." (while I'm putting handcuffs on them). Or, "Oh, so your dad is a (insert rank). That's nice. Should I call him and explain to him why your getting this ticket or would you like to tell him?"

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Apr 1 at 2018 6:36 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 06:36:00 -0400

Some kids think that way, but they soon find out that it isn't going to win them many friends.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2018 9:43 AM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 09:43:53 -0400

No, as the Scoutmaster for a predominantly military family Troop, it seems most of the kids could care less about the rank of their parents. Even at my son's last Troop in Japan which was 100% military, it was never an issue, even with children from various CO's, including the Carrier Strike Group Admiral and base CO.

Response by Cpl John Barker made Apr 1 at 2018 6:05 PM

Cpl John Barker — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 18:05:03 -0400

No. And you should make fun of them every time they try it

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2018 3:09 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 15:09:44 -0400

If a child thinks he/she is entitled (for any reason) it is most likely the result of how they were raised. If they grew up hearing mom say "Do you know who my husband is??" they are probably more likely to say "Do you know who my dad is?"

Response by SPC David Willis made Apr 2 at 2018 3:21 PM

SPC David Willis — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 15:21:50 -0400

The only time I heard about it happening was a CSMs daughter who was 19 or 20, however that was more of a warning to guys to stay away than an issue of pulling rank.

Response by Abe Dean made Apr 2 at 2018 4:25 PM

Abe Dean — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 16:25:14 -0400

I never once saw that growing up, to the best of my memory. Granted, that Enlisted and Commissioned raised kids didn't mingle AS much, naturally, due to the fraternization policies and which backyard cookouts families went to respectively.
However, all us kids still did at the Youth Center, Pool, Boy Scouts, and whatnot. The hierarchy with kids was more age-based, than whose Dad was whom's, not unlike regular life for the most part.
The only time I saw rank kinda matter was in Boy Scouts because we all had ranks that we rightfully earned, and no one got really bossy or was a prick about it, either, since we were all friends, as well as a team. It probably helped that our Scoutmasters were Sailors, Marines, and Missionaries who wanted their sons to learn and still have a fun childhood, despite it not being a civilian one, without drilling them to death, at the same time. Most of my Troop were either local kids, or Enlisted-Raised, but we had a few members whose Dad had an 'O' instead of an 'E' before their rating number. Didn't change a damn thing really among us boys, or the Dads, or Scoutmasters.
But yeah, anyone trying to pull rank because of their Dad's standing at work would have probably had the boom on him lowered pretty early on, I would guess, but it never came up at all. Hope this helps!

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Apr 3 at 2018 10:09 AM

SGM Bill Frazer — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 10:09:09 -0400

Sometimes they do- particularly if the spouse try's to current the rank.