Since 2002, Operation Homefront, a nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has provided support to military families through relief and recognition programs. For the past 17 years, Operation Homefront has sponsored the Military Child of the Year®  Award to reflect the positive impact that children of military families have made on their military families, their schools, and their communities. 

The annual awards recognize outstanding young people ages 13 to 18. Recipients will represent a branch of the armed forces — the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Space Force — and are chosen for their scholarship, volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular involvement, and other criteria while facing the challenges of military family life.

All Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year Award recipients will be flown with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C., and recognized at the April 2025 gala, during which senior leaders of each branch of service  will present the awards. They also will receive $10,000 each, a laptop computer, and other donated gifts.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• Child must be a legal military dependent. Status confirmed by DEERS enrollment form.
• Military children must be between the ages of 13 and 18, at the time of nomination.
• Child and one adult guardian must be available to travel to the Washington, DC area April 8-11, during the month of the military child, for the Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year Awards Gala award presentation.
• Officers, directors, employees, and agents of Operation Homefront and its subsidiaries or affiliated organizations, and their immediate family members (parent, child, sibling, and spouse of each) and those living in the same households of each are not eligible to receive programs, services, grants, or donated goods intended for use by Operation Homefront’s clients.
• Previous Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year Award Recipients, including Innovation Award recipients, are no longer eligible.

In addition to the above eligibility requirements, if selected as a Semifinalist, must:

• Provide Letters of recommendation
• Provide Form 1172- DEERS
• Be willing to participate in media and donor opportunities

For more information, visit the Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year web page.

Nomination for the award may be made online using the nomination form.  Nominations close on December 2, 2024.