Rooted in Service

Jemma Bates, Operation Homefront’s 2023 Military Child of the Year® of the Navy

Military families face unique challenges that are not shared by their civilian counterparts. Getting the best health care possible shouldn’t be one of those challenges. Johns Hopkins US Family Health Plan (USFHP) is honored to be the health partner for families like Jemma’s and all our “warriors at home,” our military families and retirees.

For most high school graduates, summer is a time for beach trips with friends, outdoor get-togethers and bracing for the shock of college dorm life. Jemma Bates will instead be immersed in a dramatically different kind of summer — one of intense physical trials, mental challenges and hard work, yet one that will put her in reach of her dream. As a cadet in the U.S. Naval Academy.

Known as Plebe Summer, the rigorous Academy basic training program will be Jemma’s entire world for seven grueling summer weeks before the 18-year-old begins her four-year journey at the Academy this fall. While a beach trip may seem far more appealing, as one of only 1,200 students who were accepted to the Academy out of nearly 17,000 applicants, Jemma feels more than lucky to be spending her summer this way.

“The thing that I’m most looking forward to,” says Jemma, “is the personal swearing-in ceremony. I’ll have my dad swear me in, and that’s going to be very, very special.”

Operation Homefront’s 2023 Military Child of the Year, Jemma Bates may seem an extraordinary teen, but she is representative of the broad spectrum of kids and teens who comprise the more than 1.6 million children of military families. Of course, not every military child will enlist in the Navy, but many of the same challenges faced by these young “warriors at home” are the same challenges Jemma has faced as a child of a military family.

One thing you can count on when you are part of a military family is a PCS, or Permanent Change of Station, which is when a service member receives a new location assignment and has to move. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, military families move every two to three years on average, and military children change schools an average of six to nine times before graduating from high school. “I’ve been to nine different schools,” explains Jemma. “I didn’t have friends that I grew up with since kindergarten.”

Moving is an inevitable part of military life, and moving often to new places can impact a child’s self-esteem, academics and their ability to socialize and make friends, among other things. “My best friends live across the country,” adds Jemma, “but I always have my family.” Despite the hardship of moving, Jemma is mindful of the many “fantastic opportunities” she’s enjoyed, having already visited 48 of 50 U.S. states in her travels. Her family currently resides in Annapolis, Maryland.

So how did Jemma find her way through the trials of military childhood to earn the distinction of Operation Homefront’s Military Child of the Year? Jemma believes it was her ability to develop personal connections and outlets. “My parents and my support system really helped me thrive and grow and become the person that I am today,” says Jemma, who proudly praises the value of her family’s strength and support. “You always know those people are going to have your back. I’ve been able to lean on them so much.”

Yet there’s more to it than that — Jemma believes it’s all about being rooted in service, whether it be in the military, the community or public arena. Jemma’s father happens to be Captain James Bates, Deputy Superintendent/Chief of Staff at the U.S. States Naval Academy, an active-duty service member of 35 years. Having already exchanged salutes with her father in 2021 when Jemma received the Junior Cadet of the Year Award in recognition of her unit of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps, it’s beginning to seem like a family tradition of sorts.

Jemma’s younger brother, James, has no plans to pursue a career in military service, but he does have ambitions to serve in his own way, perhaps as a teacher. “He doesn’t really know exactly what he wants to do,” explains Jemma, “but I do think he’s going to serve in some way.” According to the National Military Family Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates for military families, about 44% of military teens plan to serve in the armed services, and those who choose not to go into the military will find other ways to serve in their communities.

The virtue of service is a part of the fabric of Jemma’s family. As Jemma puts it, “Everything is rooted in that idea of service — of making the community a better place — of bringing joy and light to the world. That’s something that is definitely rooted in both of us because of our upbringing as military kids.”

Jemma joined the local unit of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps in 2020 and served as the unit corpsman, led the color guard and served as the leading chief petty officer, putting in 500 volunteer hours in the course of her service. She also she traveled to the Federal Aviation Administration Ground School for aviation training in Key West, Florida, where she completed and passed the FAA Private Pilot Ground School exam, logging two and a half hours of flight time in pursuit of earning her pilot’s license.

Within two years as a Sea Cadet, Jemma rose from a seaman recruit to leading drill for more than 40 cadets as a senior noncommissioned officer in the Annapolis Division and earning the Cadet of the Year service award. In February of this year, Jemma was the honored recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution National Headquarters’ Outstanding Cadet Medal for her work advocating mental health for military teens in Bloom, a blog for military teens co-founded by a 2022 Military Child of the Year award winner.

“I actually found Bloom because I was lonely,” explains Jemma. “We had moved to a new place. It was 2020, it was COVID, I didn’t really have very many people that I could talk to, I didn’t know anybody at my school.” Jemma recalls her hesitation in writing for Bloom, concerned that she may not be up to the task, but is thankful she took on the opportunity. “I really think it’s changed my life for the better to be a part of this,” she observes.

Many military teens struggle with mental health, feelings of isolation and loneliness, especially after a PCS. While at times, it’s hard to be an objective voice, the experience has been enlightening to learn that the struggles that Jemma went thorough are common struggles for other military kids and teens. Jemma helped to research the indispensable Field Guide to the Military Teen, published by Bloom, and today serves as interactive content creator, promoting work submitted by military teens and advocating for mental health support for military teens when relocating.

“I’m super passionate about the mission of Bloom — empowering the military teen,” says Jemma. “I will continue to keep working with them, in a different capacity and with a different perspective, as I become a midshipman at the Naval Academy.”

Making the change from the life of a high school senior to the rigors and demands of cadet life will be one of Jemma’s first challenges upon entering the U.S. Naval Academy program. Jemma says that she’s always been an independent spirit, but she knows she will miss her family. “I’m super close to my parents,” reflects Jemma. “We have a really great relationship.” Of course, she also knows that she will be fully immersed in the notoriously punishing routine of basic training. “It’s definitely going to be an adjustment, but I think the pride and the understanding — especially being in a military family — is outweighing that.”

One person Jemma will especially miss is her mother. Jennifer Bates has been the steady hand and tender heart for Jemma throughout the daily challenges of military family life — always there for her, whether as a guide, a support or an in-house chauffeur. “Being able to do sports, and being able to do music, and being able to get as involved as I have been in my communities is a huge reason that I’ve been successful,” Jemma admits.

More than being a reliable ride, Jemma’s mother was an advocate for fostering these opportunities to develop outlets and connections — even in the midst of an isolating pandemic. “As someone who had just moved into a new town, at a new school,” Jemma recalls, “we were completely virtual — it was super hard for me to make friends. So my mom signed my brother and I up for fencing!”

No matter where her career takes her, Jemma knows she will carry her family in her heart. “I’ve said I won Military Child of the Year,” she reasons, “therefore, my parents are the Military Parents of the Year, and my brother is the Military Sibling of the Year. “I love them,” she adds, “They support me in so, so many ways.”

Graduating from Annapolis High School with an International Baccalaureate degree, Jemma’s studies are focused on aerospace engineering. Her ambition is to complete her pilot training as a prelude to becoming a Navy fighter pilot. Jemma’s ultimate pursuit, though, lies far above the clouds — in space, as an astronaut. “I’ve always been super interested in human space flight,” she admits. A life-long dream, she attributes it to a childhood visit to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I think it would be incredible to have the opportunity to live and work in space,” Jemma confides. “That’s definitely a big dream of mine.”

But before Jemma can take on that big dream, she will first need to memorize Reef Points — the somewhat small, 318-page handbook of U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen, which contains more than 1,000 facts that she will need to know along with the rest of her fellow cadets.

Jemma grins at the prospect, commenting “You don’t get better by doing easy things.”

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Johns Hopkins US Family Health Plan was a presenting sponsor of Operation Homefront’s 2023 Military Child of the Year. Operation Homefront is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive — not simply struggle to get by — in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.