The unexpected many years of global conflict since 9/11 have taken their toll on more than just the service members -- their families, most especially their children, have paid a significant price by living with the anxiety and stress associated with multiple deployments, safety concerns for the absent parent or caregiver, media coverage overload, and often additional family responsibilities or relocation. National Guard and Reserve forces were activated to join with Active Duty on the battlefield leaving many children in a strange new world -- being in a military family and not knowing other military kids in similar circumstances, whether in the same community, next town, or across the country. The National Military Family Association, a respected advocacy organization that has fought to protect and strengthen quality of life for military families since 1969, launched the Operation Purple® Camp program in 2004. This no-cost camp program for military children of the deployed was designed to bring children and youth together in an outdoor setting so that they could meet other military kids going through similar experiences, reduce some of the stress they were feeling, and just have fun being a kid again. The model includes teaching communication skills, introducing concept of stewardship for self, neighbor, and community, providing a military-theme event, and using the healing aspects of being in the outdoors. This article describes in further detail the how and why Operation Purple Camps, relevant when first launched, remain relevant and needed for military children today. For today and going forward, they not only will experience continued deployments, in some cases on a smaller scale, but will also face the many challenges associated with reintegrating a long absent parent or caregiver back into the family unit.