Melania Trump, Karen Pence praise military families during Fort Bragg visit

First lady Melania Trump and Karen Pence, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence, recognized the sacrifices of military families Monday during a visit to Fort Bragg.

The two women stopped at Albritton Middle School on post, where they fielded questions from students, before heading over to Pope Army Airfield to speak to more than 800 service members and their families.

Each April is designated at the Month of the Military Child, and nearly 2 million children have parents who are serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense.

“They're our future leaders," Trump said of military children in her remarks, "and I can’t think of a better place to inspire leadership then among our military community.”

Service members and their families said they appreciated the time Trump and Pence took to recognize them.

“It was actually very rewarding and motivating to hear the first lady and the second lady speak about some of the things that go on in our daily lives," Sgt. Deanna Orallo said. "As active-duty military and having a son who is 6 years old and both of his parents are serving, it’s nice to have that recognized – a lot of the sacrifices and the growth that he has to go through and experience on a daily basis.”

Trump and Pence also toured Fort Bragg and observed demonstrations of Special Operations capabilities.

Pence has visited the post twice in the last three months, but Monday's trip was the first visit by Trump.