More than 200 children of Dyess Air Force Base airmen were "deployed" Friday just three days before school starts.

But not before they had their shots, took care of legal matters and had their faces painted with desert brown and jungle green grease paint.

While it proved to be a fun version of a real deployment, the children -- ages 3 to 15 -- learned some valuable lessons about what their parents go through when they deploy.

Tables and tents were set up for processing, and the kids started their morning at 7:30 a.m. receiving their dog tags and identification cards. If they needed a shoulder to cry on, the chaplain was there, too.

There were fire trucks, ambulances, machine guns, tents for first aid and a survival tent.

Col. Sponge Bob, Commander, 7th BW, gave the kids Special Order TX-2008 for travel. He showed his generosity by authorizing $4 per diem -- albeit fake -- for each participant.

"See your mom or dad if you need more," Sponge Bob stated in the special order.

The children seemed to like the finance department as each received an additional $42 to spend -- or much more than Sponge Bob had authorized. It, too, was fake money, but who needed money when there was free candy medicine of jelly beans and M&Ms? The nurse gave them their shots to ward off jungle or desert diseases. (There were no real needles.)

Capt. Brad Amys handled legal matters, helping the children fill out a power of attorney or make a will.

The power of attorney let the kids decide who would care for their bicycles, clean their rooms, put toys away, deposit money in their piggy bank and do their chores while they were away. One youngster was concerned about who would take care of his dog and his brother and sister.

Children appeared pleased that McGruff the Crime Dog would be left at home during deployment. McGruff made the rounds to assure each kid that he would be guarding the home front.

After receiving a good barbecue lunch, the children boarded C-130s and B-1s for deployment.

Margie Miles brought her three children -- Kristen, 13, Sarah, 7, and Brittany, 5. Her husband, John, just returned from being deployed.

"I quit my job to be at home with the kids," Margie Miles said.

She said that her children were helpful but that they all missed their dad.

"I helped mow the lawn," Kristen said. "We talked to my dad about once each week."

She said it was a good lesson showing what her father went through before being deployed.

Staff Sgt. Roger Zehr showed the children how to use a mirror to signal for a rescue mission.

"The mirror has been known to signal as far as 100 miles," he told them.

Tech. Sgt. Bill Prince and his wife, Heather, had three children deploy -- Taylor, 11, Jarrett, 4, and Kylie, 8. They were busy at the survival tent learning how to put on a gas mask or other clothes for a chemical attack.

Prince said he had been deployed several times.

"I help take care of my brother and sister and two dogs when my dad is gone," Taylor said.

"This is cool stuff," said Devon Grenfell, 9, as he watched the Explosive Ordnance Disposal bomb squad put its robot to work searching for bombs.

Devon's dad, Tech. Sgt. Jeff Grenfell, is home now but has been deployed.

"I was sad at first," Devon said. "I got to see him on the Webcam."

Devon was hopping from booth to booth, taking it all in.

"I like the part where they hand out candy best," he said.

Operation Deployment ended at 2 p.m. -- a much shorter stint than deployments experienced by their parents.

Base officials said the yearly event is another example of how the military takes care of families of those who are serving their country.