HEIDELBERG, Germany — Dozens of Army brats from Heidelberg Middle School enjoyed a sunny spring day Tuesday and got a taste of life in the service courtesy of the V Transportation Corps and other units from the area.

The experience was all part of the school’s Kids Boot Camp, which was geared toward children who have deployed parents, parents who are getting ready to deploy or whose parents have recently returned from a deployment.

Students donned camouflage headbands, watched military working dogs from the 529th Military Police Company sniff out C-4 and drugs, and learned first aid basics from the Heidelberg Medical Activity. They also did physical training and gobbled down Army chow in a Meals, Ready to Eat buffet.

School counselor Lynn Mattingly said this was the first boot camp in the 15 years she has worked at the school. She called it a good way to help children cope when their parents are deployed for months at a time.

"It was all here to give you a taste of what your parents do," Lt. Col. Robert White, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Heidelberg, told the children.

"It’s pretty awesome," sixth-grader Clayton Glauner said. "Dressing up in the armor was kind of cool."

Glauner, 12, who had his face painted in camouflage colors, said he also liked the Army grub that about 60 of his classmates got to sample.

"My favorite one so far has been the fruity strawberry drink and crackers and peanut butter," Glauner said. He said his father, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Adam Glauner, just returned from "the field."

"They are kind of weird – bad weird," sixth-grader Zharnae Webster said about the MREs. She said her father, Sgt. 1st Class Hugo Webster, is getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan.

Webster, 11, said she liked the PT because, "Sometimes I wonder what my dad does in PT."

Sixth-grader K.J. Parker called the whole thing "good fun." He said he liked hopping in a 5-ton Army truck. His mother, Staff Sgt. Anja Parker, is deployed to Iraq.

The curious kids asked questions like what could the armor stop and how long it takes to train the dogs.

They got to check out a couple of Humvees, and they did push-ups and jumping jacks as noncommissioned officers barked out commands, like "get off your knees," and ordered them to sound off.

"Everybody is having a good time," Capt. Mike Toney, with V Corps, said. "The MREs are interesting. Some like it and others are like ‘I’ll never eat that again.’"