{"id":404561,"date":"2025-04-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=404561"},"modified":"2025-04-08T02:35:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T02:35:35","slug":"presidio-of-monterey-chaplain-speaks-at-month-of-the-military-child-school-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=404561","title":{"rendered":"Presidio of Monterey chaplain speaks at Month of the Military Child school assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Maj. Danny Melin, Presidio of Monterey\u2019s Family Life Chaplain, speaks to first through third grade students gathered for a Month of the Military Child assembly at George C. Marshall Elementary School in Seaside, California, April 2, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Jennifer Leggett)
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PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. (Apr. 7, 2025) \u2013 Presidio of Monterey\u2019s Family Life Chaplain, Maj. Danny Melin, spoke to first through third grade students gathered for a Month of the Military Child assembly at George C. Marshall Elementary School in Seaside, California, on April 2.<\/p>\n

Using an ocean kayak and oar as props, Melin invited students to embark on an imaginary adventure at sea. He likened the kayak to the support of family and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like a boat keeps you afloat, family and friends are essential for navigating the challenges of military life,\u201d Melin explained to the captivated students.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The oar symbolized the guidance and direction parents, teachers, coaches and friends provide. He emphasized the importance of having the \u201cright tools\u201d for life\u2019s journey by presenting some of the \u201cwrong tools\u201d from his gear bag, using a reflector belt and helmet to illustrate his point. The interactive presentation kept students entertained and engaged.<\/p>\n

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\n Presidio of Monterey\u2019s Family Life Chaplain, Maj. Danny Melin uses props to deliver his message of \u201clife\u2019s an adventure, make sure you have the right equipment\u201d as he speaks to first through third grade students gathered for a Month of the Military Child assembly at George C. Marshall Elementary School in Seaside, California, April 2, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Jennifer Leggett)
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\u201cOur faith, our good habits and our resiliency serve as our life jacket,\u201d Melin said, clipping into a life jacket. \u201cWe can make it long enough floating for another boat to pick us up and take us back to shore.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Melin\u2019s children, Eli, Benaiah and Juliette, joined him to share their personal experiences as military children. While acknowledging the difficulty of leaving friends behind, they shared how they stay in touch with calls, video chats and writing letters. Their favorite experiences as military children have been traveling and the adventures of living in new places and seeing new sites.<\/p>\n

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\n Presidio of Monterey\u2019s Family Life Chaplain, Maj. Danny Melin is joined by his three children Eli, 13, Benaiah, 12 and Juliette, 10, to share their personal experiences as military children during a Month of the Military Child assembly at George C. Marshall Elementary School in Seaside, California, April 2, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Jennifer Leggett)
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\u201cIt can be really challenging to go from place to place to place,\u201d Melin admitted, reflecting on his experiences across all 50 states. \u201cBut the Army has given us the opportunity to travel, and my kids have been to almost all 50 states, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melin extended his message to all students with the encouragement to befriend newcomers and create welcoming communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have new kids in your class, look for ways to be their friend and make them feel welcome,\u201d Melin said. \u201cEveryone here can be part of the adventure, but we need to be sure we all have the right equipment with us to be safe, smart, and secure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each April, the Month of the Military Child honors the resilience of military children and recognizes the unique challenges they overcome. Families moving to the Monterey area with school-aged children can contact the Army School Liaison office at (831) 242-7197 for assistance with school enrollment and other support services. For more information about School Support Services, visit Army CYS Services\u2013School Support Services<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maj. Danny Melin, Presidio of Monterey\u2019s Family Life Chaplain, speaks to first through third grade students gathered for a Month of the Military Child assembly at George C. Marshall Elementary School in Seaside, California, April 2, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Jennifer Leggett) (Photo Credit: Jennifer Leggett) VIEW ORIGINAL PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. (Apr. 7, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404563,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-404561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=404561"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":404567,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404561\/revisions\/404567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/404563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=404561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=404561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=404561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}