‘Army Brats’ Can Always Find A Home With Nomad

The nation’s nearly 400,000 teenage “military brats” have their own magazine, Nomad: The Brat Journal, a chronicle of the lives, times and issues facing U.S. military kids worldwide.

“It’s really cool,” said 12-year-old Nicholas Fuller, whose father is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. Reading Nomad “makes me realize there are other people who have the same problems I do,” he said.

Military brats often feel isolated and confused because of the constant uprooting, said Nomad editor Susan Cassidy, whose Air Force family moved 18 times before she was 20.

“Our desire is not to create a bleeding-hearts club, but to talk to kids now about what’s hard about their lives and address it,” she said.

The 40-page glossy magazine first appeared last fall at bases around the United States. It features stories about celebrities who grew up in military families, profiles of U.S. bases and topical columns by military teens.

The first three issues included stories titled “Moving my senior year,” “My mamma wears combat boots!” and “Friends forever … yes, it’s possible.”

Celebrity brats Nomad has covered or plans to profile are actor Blair Underwood and NBA star Shaquille O’Neal.

The magazine publishes 10,000 copies per issue but is growing rapidly. Nomad has 600 subscribers and adds 10 per day, Cassidy said.

“I wish we’d have had this when I was a kid,” she said. “I think it’s just an idea whose time has come.”