At adventure camp sites in Kentucky and beyond, something remarkable has been happening for military families and their youth to strengthen their relationships and communication through outdoor activities. 

The Military Teen Adventure Camps (MTAC), part of the Extension Military Families Program at the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension, provides military families a unique experience in nature. 

MTAC, a national extension program, invites all military parents and their teenage children to attend a thrilling adventure camp for an extended weekend with other military families. Some of the outdoor activities include rock-climbing, white-water rafting, canopy excursions, zip lining and mountain biking.  

Tyrone Atkinson, UK alum and FCS military program coordinator at Martin-Gatton CAFE, believes MTAC provides a special opportunity for families. This includes strengthening their bond with each other and forging new friendships with other families through positive and exciting outdoor adventure experiences. 

“MTAC gives our military teens and families special experiences and memories that last a lifetime,” Atkinson said. “Not all families get to enjoy a weekend outdoors while others are serving them. We take care of all the logistics so they can just enjoy the moments with each other and other military families. We want these families to connect and stay connected.” 

Military families also engage in team building activities to better experience the camp property and learn about themselves and each other.

Sergeant Major (SGM) Steve Minyard, ARMY DOD senior enlisted advisor to the assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs stationed in Washington, D.C., has served 30 years in the military. SGM Minyard recently attended an adventure camp with his children at the Nantahala Outdoor Recreation Center. 

“In my position at the DOD, we work on a wide variety of policies and programs designed to ensure that our military service members and their families are experiencing the highest quality of life,” SGM Minyard said. “MTAC is an amazing experience for families regardless of whether you’re on active duty or serving one of our reserve components. That’s why I’m here with my kids. I love seeing my family and other families come together at these adventure camps. I hope one day we can send every service member to an experience like this.” 

The Extension Military Families program goals assist active duty, National Guard, military reserves and veteran families by: 

• Connecting military families to needed resources and support;
• Helping service members more effectively reconnect with their children before, during and after deployments;
• Enhancing healthy parent/child relationships and family communication skills by providing programs that involve the entire family; and
• Improving the sense of connectedness for geographically dispersed military families by providing opportunities for interaction, community resources, activities involving multiple local/regional/state organizations, and introducing military families to extension programs. 

Kerri Ashurst, FCS senior extension specialist for family and relationship development at Martin-Gatton CAFE and director of the UK MTAC Program, wants the adventure to continue, expanding and scaling MTAC by offering more year-round opportunities for military families. 

“We received our first round of funding for military parent-teen camps about 14 years ago, which stemmed from this incredible idea for service member parents and their teenagers to come together for fun adventure at our camps,” Ashurst said. “Over the years, there are several accomplishments that are truly my favorite to celebrate. This includes MTAC’s growing popularity, how many families have returned to experience our adventure camps again and seeing our families grow together. A theme that I hear from families is a sense of belonging and community. It’s truly magical.” 

Ashurst would like to see military family camping programs continue expanding—holding more camps throughout the year, in a greater number of locations and reaching more military families through their partnership with Expeditions Afield of Versailles, Kentucky.

MTAC is a partnership funded by the Department of Defense between the Office of Military Community and Family Policy and the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture through a grant with Purdue University. 

To learn more about MTAC, visit https://fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/MTAC.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 20234870341193. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Department of Agriculture.

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