While talking to a friend about her father having to leave for 18 months as part of a duty for his job, 17-year-old Terilyn Young got a rather unexpected response.

The friend, who didn't know Young was referring to a deployment as part of her father's assignment with the Army National Guard, shot back with, "Wow, where can my dad go for 18 months?"

The story brought laughs from the many educators, community leaders, parents and military family support counselors in attendance at the one-day Washington State Military Kids and Families Summit Nov. 13 at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.

Young, seated on a speakers panel along with a group of other local military children, answered questions and addressed several topics related to deployments, life in a military family and what challenges military children face on a daily basis.

While teenagers on the panel talked candidly about their many experiences with civilian teens and teachers unfamiliar with the inner workings of the military family, the responses helped paint a picture to those in attendance of how to better address the various stressors military children face each day.

"I'm impressed with how many organizations have come out and are trying to help and get involved in trying to make a difference in our lives," said Young, a senior at Medical Lake High School in Spokane and vice president of the Washington Army and Air National Guard youth council. "I don't know if I'll see any benefits from it because I'm older now than a lot of the kids, but I hope that my younger sisters and other kids will experience it and will understand how much everybody cares about them."

In addition to the speaker's panel in the main ballroom, the teenagers also gathered in smaller breakout sessions to talk more specifically about what resources schools and community centers can provide to help military children in their communities.

Jennifer LaShells, a Clover Park School District counselor who splits her time between Oakbrook and Beachwood Elementary schools, sat in on youth panel seeking better insight on how to support the many military children she sees on a regular basis.

"Every school district has embraced our military children differently," she said. "I'm here asking, ‘How can I do my job better?' I'm out here to suck up all the resources I can."

LaShells said that while it may be harder for her to see symptoms of stress brought on by a deployment in children in kindergarten through fifth grade as opposed to teens in high school, she acknowledges it is indeed present.

"They've also got so much they're carrying around in their heart," LaShells said.

Those feelings have a tendency to come out, she said, when children get into arguments over small things on the playground.

"The ones facing the stress can make a mountain out of a mole hill," she said. "As school counselors we can find out what's out there and how we can steer families in the right direction when it comes to support."

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also made an appearance at the summit, stressing her commitment to supporting legislation offering support for military families.

"Making sure families are supported is a matter of national security," she said. "Strong families mean strong servicemembers."