Hey, all you kids in the military community need to read this. Seriously! So, please put down your iPad, iPhone or other digital device for the next couple of minutes. You’ll survive, and I promise no one will take them.

Now that I have your attention, I want to give you a little job. No, wait! Don’t stop reading! I’m not going to ask you to clean your room! I’m simply going to give you the opportunity to be heard by tens of thousands of people. Seriously! You see, April is the Month of the Military Child, and for the 13th straight year, the Stars and Stripes community publications are dedicating it to you, the children of our men and women in uniform.

Each Stripes Guam, Stripes Japan, Stripes Okinawa and Stripes Korea issue in April will contain your stories, poems, drawings and photos about what life is like as a military child.

For those children who are part of the military community overseas but not technically a military child, we want to hear from you, too. You and your Department of Defense civilian parents are also a key part of the military community.

So, what’s life like as a military kid? Tell us. And after you share with us, your submission will be posted on our special Month of the Military website: Militarychild.Stripes.com and could appear in at least one weekly paper.

We are giving you a platform to say what you want. Of course, to have your say, you have to write, type or draw it. You can be funny or serious. You can write a paragraph or a longer story (250-word maximum, please). Whatever you do, be yourself. Stand up and be heard.

We get thousands of submissions a year, so for stories to run in the paper, they must be submitted by April 15. But no matter when they are submitted, they will be posted on the website. As we approach another April, our team is ready for the onslaught. In fact, we’re already receiving submissions.

By the way, like every year, we’ve been in touch with teachers across the Pacific who are using this as a class project. So be ready for that. For those of you who haven’t participated in our annual salute, we hope to hear from you this year.

Stars and Stripes is very proud to serve the military community, and it’s an honor to spotlight its resourceful group of children.

Submit today at militarychild.stripes.com or email to militarychild@stripes.com. Stories must be submitted by April 15 to appear in Stripes Guam!

We can’t wait to hear from you!