Origins of the term “Military Brat”

The traditional reference to military children as “military brats” has always bothered me, way before becoming a military spouse. I remember feeling uneasy when I heard the new kids at school being called “brats.” Being called a brat wasn’t the nicest of things to call people, especially from a kid’s perspective. So, to help explain this “brat” reference in the military subculture, I sat down and took the time to research what this term of endearment actually meant.

Webster dictionary defines “brat” as “a child, especially an impudent, unruly child; scornful or playful term.” But that definition doesn’t define “military brats.”

Military brats are more likely to have such values as idealism, antiracism, loyalty, patriotism, and honesty.

MilitaryBratLife.com creator, Vann Baker gives the following candid description of a military brat: “My own personal definition is that a military brat is someone who, as a child, grows up in a family where one or more parents are ‘career’ military, and where the children move from base to base, experiencing life in several different places, and possibly different countries. Depending on when a military brat is born and where the parent is in his or her career with the military, brats may have a short or a long exposure to the military way of life.”

Filmmaker Debra Rae also provides a Linguistic Reclamation of “brat” in her award-winning documentary, Brats: Our Journey Home. “Wherever organized warfare exists, military spouses and their children follow armies. The so-called ‘little traveler’ is found in literature dating back to the early nineteenth century. Historically, military family members were known as ‘camp followers.’ Though origin of the term ‘military brat,’ is unknown, some evidence suggests that, originally, the label stood for ‘British Regiment Attached Traveler.’ American ‘military brats’ date back to birth of the United States.”

In her research, sociologist Karen Williams used the term “brat” reluctantly in order to “follow the wishes of participants.”

You see, while non-military personnel find the term “brat” impudent, it has been reclaimed linguistically as a positive term of affection within the ranks of the military.

Senator Ben Nelson, a member of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, explains, “When the word ‘brat’ is used to describe someone, it is not meant as a compliment; but … ‘military brat’ [is] … a term of endearment.”

It “speaks respectfully of one who is a world traveler and, hence, a global citizen, graced with spunk and a spirit of adaptability,” according to Debra Rae, author of newswithviews.com.

So, with the research and overwhelming responses of the perspectives of actual past and present military children taking on the “military brat” identity, who am I to go against it, especially while we raise little military brats of our own?