Pentagon opens funding for teen-led projects that boost military life

A grant application window that opened this month will give military-connected teenagers across the globe the opportunity to secure funding for self-designed military community projects, defense officials announced.

Funded by the DOW’s Office of Military Community and Family Policy, the grant is open to teen programs who participated in last month’s Joint Service Teen Council Summit at the Pentagon. Joint Service Teen Council members from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, National Guard and reserves briefed senior military leaders on issues affecting their peers and collaborated on localized solutions.

The 2026 War Department Joint Service Teen Council Empowerment Grant will award $4,000 to address one or more of the department’s three funding priorities for teens: teen program support and protection, teen road to future success, and access and availability. The grant explicitly requires that teenagers be the sole originators of the project concepts. Youth representatives from installations who participated in JSTC received grant information and have until Sept. 1 to apply.

“The Joint Service Teen Council is much more than a summer summit; it’s a strategic, year-round investment in the future of our military community,” said Michael Coltrin, director, Child & Youth Programs. “By giving these remarkable teens a meaningful platform to share their unique experiences and raise their concerns, we aren't just listening; we’re empowering them to actively shape the programs that improve everyday quality of life for our military families.”

Officials point to last year’s successful projects as the blueprint for what the 2026 application cycle hopes to achieve. Among them is the Hillside Youth Center Outdoor Creative Space Initiative at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Created entirely by the installation’s teens and supported by local staff, that project is transforming an underused outdoor area into a vibrant, teen-designed environment. The space is engineered to promote wellness, creativity and connection among military-connected youth who frequently navigate the stressors of parental deployments and relocations.

Through hands-on art, gardening and nature-based activities, Joint Base Lewis-McChord teens are developing leadership skills while actively strengthening peer and family bonds. The resulting outdoor space is intended to be a sustainable, evolving environment that fosters belonging, resilience and pride for both current and future generations of military families stationed at the installation.

“As military teens, we know how important it is to have a space that stays consistent even when everything else is changing. That’s why we’ve prioritized sustainable design — so that future teens at Hillside have a welcoming spot to lead and decompress,” said Peyton D., an installation teen involved in the project. “We’ve put in the work to ensure this garden stays a staple of the youth center for the next generation of military kids, and we can't wait to finally get the build started.”

There were 380,000 enrollments across all DOW Youth Programs in fiscal year 2025.

The War Department offers targeted programs for teens to directly mitigate the unique stressors of military life – such as frequent school changes, peer disruption from relocation, and parental deployment anxiety – thereby reinforcing family stability and protecting overall warfighter mission readiness.

DOW Youth Programs are open to active-duty, National Guard and reserve members. Unlike civilian youth initiatives, these programs are uniquely structured to deliver standardized, highly portable peer networks and specialized programming across a global network of military communities with a focus on social and emotional stability for military children wherever their family is stationed.

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About Military Community and Family Policy Military Community and Family Policy is responsible for establishing and overseeing quality of life policies and programs that help our service members, their families and survivors be well and mission ready. Military OneSource is the gateway to programs and services that support the everyday needs of the over 4.3 million service members and immediate family members of the military community. Access these DOW services 24/7/365 around the world.