Joining Forces

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January 24, 2012 | 1:06 PM | By

San Diego Navy Wife to Attend State of the Union

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Cmdr. Colby Howard and Adrienne Howard

San Diego Navy wife Adrienne Howard will be a guest of first lady Michelle Obama tonight at the president’s State of the Union address. Howard is married to Cmdr. Colby Howard, who currently is deployed as the Commanding Officer of the USS Dewey.

The Air Force Times reports Howard has been a Navy wife for more than two decades:

Howard has moved 14 times during her husband’s career, and their oldest child has attended nine different schools along the way.

Howard created the “Adopt a Sailor” program, urging members of the community to take deployed Sailors into their hearts. Howard wrote on her blog:

I explained that it needn’t be expensive; it just needed to be consistent and to come from the heart.  Birthday cards, letters, notes, a care package from time to time.  Just little bits of home to let that one sailor know that somewhere out there in America, someone cares that they are far from home protecting our freedom.

Among the invited military guests of the first lady tonight will be retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, husband of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

FILED UNDER: Joining Forces, Life in the Military, San Diego, Spouses & Families, Adopt a Sailor, Adrienne Howard, Cmdr. Colby Howard, Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly, MIchelle Obama, Military Families, Military Spouses, Military Wives, President Barack Obama, State of the Union, U.S. Navy, USS Dewey
January 20, 2012 | 10:02 AM | By

Second Lady Visits Camp Pendleton Today

Elaine Sanchez / Department of Defense

Dr. Jill Biden

Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice-President Joe Biden, is slated to visit Marines and their families at Camp Pendleton today.

Biden is one of the driving forces being “Joining Forces,” a White House initiative that supports military families. Biden herself is a military mom. According to the Department of Defense, the Bidens’ son Beau was deployed to Iraq in 2008 while he a major in the Delaware Army National Guard. Dr. Biden has said of the experience:

“I know firsthand just how important it is for a child to have the support of a community and school when Mom or Dad is at war.”

Biden recently authored an illustrated children’s book specifically geared towards military kids. The book, called “Don’t Forget, Nana, God Bless Our Troops,” was inspired by her granddaughter Natalie (Beau Biden’s daughter):

“I told her I wanted to write a book to help other boys and girls understand what’s it’s like — what she went through. I also wanted her to know it was important that other children in other classrooms across the country got to know what she went through.”

The book goes on sale June 5. All proceeds go towards military family charities.

FILED UNDER: Camp Pendleton, Iraq, Joining Forces, Life in the Military, San Diego, Spouses & Families, Veterans, War, children's books, Delaware Army National Guard, Deployments, Dr. Jill Biden, Iraq War, Joining Forces, Major Beau Biden, Marine Corps, Marine Corps families, Military Children, Military Families, Second Lady, Vice President Joe Biden, “Don’t Forget Nana God Bless Our Troops”
January 13, 2012 | 9:44 AM | By

Med Schools to Focus More on Treating Veterans (Video)

The Pentagon Channel

Doctor treating a servicemember

Doctors-in-training at America’s medical schools will learn more about the illnesses that affect veterans returning from war, according to the Department of Defense.

Conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are often called the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Medical schools that are members of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine have committed to doing a better job of treating these war wounds as part of the Joining Forces campaign.

The Joining Forces initiative includes a commitment by the medical schools to:

– Train their medical students as well as their current physicians, faculty and staff to better diagnose and treat veterans and military families;

– Develop new research and clinical trials on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder

– Share their information and best practices with each other through a collaborative Web forum;

– Coordinate with the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs

The Pentagon Channel has more on this new initiative:

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Iraq, Joining Forces, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, Veterans, War, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges, Dr. Jill Biden, medical school, MIchelle Obama, Military Families, Military Spouses, posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD, TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury
December 20, 2011 | 10:07 AM | By

Marine Asks FLOTUS to 2012 Marine Corps Ball (Video)

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Michelle Obama and Lance Cpl. Aaron Leeks

The trend of Marines asking celebrities to be their dates to the Marine Corps Ball continues. But this time, it’s not a famous actress or singer who’s the potential date-to-be. It’s the wife of the most powerful man in the world.

Lance Cpl. Aaron Leeks asked Michelle Obama to be his date to his 2012 Marine Corps Ball during a Toys for Tots event at the White House. Leeks told the Associated Press:

“She said she’d love to go. Actually, she said I’d need to speak to her husband, too, but she said she’d love to.”

The 20-year-old Leeks hails from Maryland. He’s set to deploy to Afghanistan in January.

So, is FLOTUS going to the ball? White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was vague during a press briefing, saying:

“I’m sure she was flattered by the invitation.”

Here’s video, courtesy of ABC News, of Lance Cpl. Leeks and Michelle Obama at the White House Toys for Tots event:

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Joining Forces, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, War, Cpl. Kelsey De Santis, FLOTUS, Joining Forces, Justin Timberlake, Kristin Cavallari, Lance Cpl. Aaron Leeks, Marine Corps Ball, MIchelle Obama, Mila Kunis, President Barack Obama, Sgt. Scott Moore, Toys for Tots
November 10, 2011 | 1:28 PM | By

Companies Promise to Hire 100K Veterans by 2014

Jackie Guthrie/Flickr

Military couple

A day before our nation officially honors its veterans, two private organizations have committed to hiring 100,000 vets and military spouses within the next two years.

According to the Department of Defense, the International Franchise Association has promised to hire 80,000 veterans and military spouses within its 1,000 franchises. In addition, the Military Spouse Employment Partnership will employ another 20,000 vets and spouses.

First Lady Michelle Obama made the announcement at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Steps Up: Hiring our Heroes event in Washington D.C. The Washington Post quotes Mrs. Obama as saying:

“That’s 100,000 veterans and spouses who will have the security of a paycheck and good career… That’s thousands of families that can rest just a little bit easier every night.”

This new jobs campaign is part of Mrs. Obama’s and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, which kicked off in April.

FILED UNDER: Afghanistan, Iraq, Joining Forces, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, Veterans, War, Women in the military, American Jobs Act, Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, International Franchise Association, Joining Forces, Military Spouse Employment Partnership, Military Spouses, post-9/11 veterans, U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Steps Up: Hiring our Heroes, veteran unemployment, Veterans, Veterans Day
June 28, 2011 | 8:55 AM | By

New Job Opportunities for Military Spouses (Video)

Marines/Flickr

A Marine and his wife

Are you a military spouse looking for a career but frustrated at the lack of opportunities out there? Well, here’s a bit of good news. The Department of Defense is kicking off new partnership with Fortune 500 companies to help open professional doors for the wives and husbands of servicemembers.

The partnership is called the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, and it officially kicks off tomorrow. Robert Gordon, assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, has this message for military spouses:

Over the past few months, you’ve told us that career advancement and steady employment are extremely important to you. That portable, flexible career options are crucial in your ability to provide continued support to your family and your service member as you transition from one duty assignment to the next.

For more information, take a look at this report from the Pentagon Channel:

FILED UNDER: Joining Forces, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, Department of Defense, Fortune 500, Joining Forces, Military Families, Military Spouse Employment Partnership, Military Spouses
June 16, 2011 | 7:58 AM | By

Father’s Day Comes Early For Military Dads Watching “Cars 2″ (Video)

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President Obama Hosts Military Fathers and Children for Screening of Cars 2

Disney provided a special early screening of the movie “Cars 2” for the military dads and their children who gathered at the White House yesterday to mark the beginning of the year of “Strong Fathers, Strong Families.” The Obama administration initiative stresses the importance of paternal involvement in kids’ lives. Participants in the program “Strong Fathers, Strong Families” get the opportunity to enjoy things like discounted professional sports games and zoo visits with their children.

About 100 military fathers, along with their little ones, enjoyed the White House screening of “Cars 2,” although the movie doesn’t officially open until June 24. Disney is also planning on screening the movie early on five military bases. (I’m working right now to figure out which ones so I can share that information with you.)

The Pentagon Channel has this report on yesterday’s festivities:

FILED UNDER: Joining Forces, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, Cars 2, Disney, Obama administration, Pixar, President Barack Obama, Strong Families, Strong Fathers
April 12, 2011 | 1:47 PM | By

Military Families in the Spotlight Today (Video)

Herald Post/Flickr

Military families

First lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden (the mother of an Iraq war veteran) helped kick off a new national initiative today aimed at improving the health care, employment options, and educational opportunities of military families. And believe it or not, Gen. Stanley McChrystal is in charge. You remember him, right? If not, click here. Apparently McChrystal and the president have made nice.

More importantly, the initiative is called Joining Forces, and according to the Washington Post:

[It] includes assistance from Wal-Mart, Sears and Siemens to help service members find jobs. On the education front, private companies such as Boeing, ExxonMobil and Discovery Communications will support math and reading initiatives for military children. And several nonprofit health organizations, such as the American Heart Association and YMCA, will focus on helping military families lead healthier lives.

The folks at Joining Forces have put together a nice video to explain their mission:

FILED UNDER: Joining Forces, Life in the Military, Spouses & Families, Veterans, Jill Biden, Joining Forces, Michele Obama, Military Families