How to resolve AdBlock issue?
Blame the professionalism of a volunteer force that is able, into a tenth straight year, to wage war against enemies far from the homeland.
The uncomfortable reality is that only one percent of U.S. adults serve in our military, and an even smaller number does most of the fighting. They’re trained for it, they’re good at it and they do it willingly.
But sustained warfare using only volunteers, we now know, results in multiple deployments and a pace of operations unimagined when conscripts filled the ranks.
That has led to long and frequent separations from home, unprecedented levels of stress, higher rates of divorce and suicide, and higher levels of anxiety among military children.
Don’t feel, however, that there’s nothing you can do about it.
Whether you’re a neighbor, business owner, corporate executive, community leader or ordinary citizen, you can help close the sacrifice gap by showing military families and veterans that you appreciate their service.
That’s the purpose behind of a new nationwide initiative, “Joining Forces,” launched this month by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the vice president’s wife.
“It’s our hope,” said Mrs. Obama during the White House kickoff ceremony, “that what we’re launching today becomes part of the fabric of the country.”
“This campaign,” she said, “is about all of us joining together, as Americans, to give back to the extraordinary military families who serve and sacrifice so much, every day, so that we can live in freedom and security.”
In an interview later that day with Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden, the First Lady explained that, until four years ago, she had no understanding of the strain felt by military families.
Then she began hearing their stories first hand while campaigning for her husband in his run for the presidency.
Unlike the Bidens whose son Beau serves in the National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2008, Mrs. Obama said, “we’re not a military family.”
Her father served in the Army before she was born. Besides photos of him in uniform, the military had no role in her life on the south side of Chicago
“I’m sure I have cousins who have served. But is there anyone in my life today who is being deployed? Do I know anyone who’s been deployed? And the answer is no,” she said.
That’s also true of most Americans.
Inspired by “the amazing military spouses and children who we’ve met all across the country, Michelle Obama said she became committed to raising awareness of what families and veterans contribute, so public support stays strong or even deepens.
As one military mom recently wrote to her, Mrs. Obama said, “Please don’t let Americans forget or ignore what we live with.”
“Jill and I have spent the last two years listening, learning, developing the relationships, building credibility within the military community so people actually believe we mean what we say,” the First Lady explained.
In January the administration announced that for the first time ever the well being of military families would become a priority throughout the federal government, not just at departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
For example, the department of Health and Human Services has partnered with DoD to help lower suicides across military and veteran populations; the department of Housing and Urban Development is working with VA and Labor to end veterans’ homelessness by 2015; DoD, Labor, Commerce and the Small Business Administration are encouraging corporate America to expand career opportunities for military spouses.
A total of 50 such commitments by federal departments are being implemented.
“Joining Forces,” said Mrs. Obama, is to get “the rest of the country” involved in lifting whatever burdens they can off of military families.
Neighbors can offer to their lawns, shovel snow or take more turns with the kids’ carpool while service members are deployed.
Teachers identify military children in their classrooms and strive to recognize signals of stress and learn how to deal it. Employers can enhance job opportunities for military spouses.
Those with no clue how to reach out to military families can find ideas, local contact information on a new website, www.joiningforces.gov.
Forces deployed today include tens of thousands of Reserve and National Guard members. So families and vets needing support can be found in any town in the country, said Mrs. Biden.
“We always knew we wanted to create a broad, national awareness program,” she said. “But, boy, we were amazed at the nonprofits … and the businesses who said, ‘We want to help.’ And it just grew and grew and grew. And we expect it to grow even more.”
The campaign will have more famous faces behind it, including Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks, and some large employers like Walmart and Sears. Key goals will be to enhance spouse employment, children’s education and the overall “wellness” of military families. But the motto of the movement is that “everyone can do something,” said Mrs. Obama.
Blue Star Families, a support group of military families to support military families, conducted a survey of spouses in 2010. It found that 92 percent feel the “country doesn’t care or isn’t aware of their challenges,” Mrs. Obama said. “I’d love to see that number go down.”
Before she and Jill Biden embarked on a three-day tour of military bases to spotlight Joining Forces, we asked Mrs. Obama if she has detected raised anxiety among military families over Libya and the prospect of deeper U.S. involvement in one more war in the Middle East.
“You know families don’t say that. Soldiers don’t say that,” she said. “They say ‘Where am I needed? What do I need to do? I’m ready to go.’
“That’s the beauty of these families,” she continued. “They’re proud to serve and they’re trained to serve. Now that doesn’t mean we can take advantage of that [or] ignore the ramifications of long deployments.”
All Americans need to be more aware, she added, that when conflict happens and troops respond, there are families impacted who need support.
To comment, send e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111.
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.
