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Good afternoon,
I
recently joined the Office of the First Lady as the Executive Director
of Joining Forces, and I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce
myself and thank you for your support of this initiative.
Over
the past few weeks, I have had the wonderful privilege of traveling
with the First Lady and Dr. Biden around the country, and we’ve seen and
felt the tremendous outpouring of support for our Military families,
Service members and Veterans. We’ve heard helpful feedback, and as we
continue to build Joining Forces we want to make sure you know what
we’re working on and where we are going.
Recently,
you may have seen the increase in Public Service Announcements from the
First Lady and Dr. Biden that raise awareness and call on all Americans
to take action and support our Military families. We are focusing on
employment, education and wellness. Below you’ll find highlights of our
recent efforts to strengthen job training for transitioning service
members, along with employment and licensing for veterans and military
spouses.
Help to spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends and family. Encourage them to sign up for email updates here.
Warmly,
Brad Cooper
Focusing on Jobs for Vets and Military Families
US News and World Report Op-Ed
If
you haven’t had the chance, I encourage you to read the First Lady’s
recent Op-Ed in US News and World Report. This article helps to capture
the role that the First Lady and Dr Biden intend to play in advocating
for employment opportunities for military spouses and veterans.
President Obama’s Announcement
I
had the great privilege of joining the President for his announcement
on Veterans Employment on August 5th. In addition to several policy
proposals that enhance the transition from military service to civilian
life and offer tax incentives for businesses to hire veterans, the
announcement included a significant commitment from private sector
companies ranging from Siemens and Microsoft, to Lockheed Martin and
Accenture. Learn more about some of these private sector commitments.
Licensing Help for Military Spouses
Nearly
40 percent of military spouses who are employed full-time are teachers,
nurses, speech therapists or other professionals who are required to
have a license or certification to practice in their field. But today,
only 11 of 50 states have laws that alleviate some of the barriers to an
expedited license transfer from one state to another when our military
families transfer. Learn more about steps we’re taking to make it easier for military families.
Licensing and Credentialing Help for Transitioning Service Members
We
need to do more to help our transitioning service members translate
their battlefield and service experience into jobs back home. For
example, Army Medics save lives on the battlefield in Iraq and
Afghanistan under the most challenging of conditions. But too many
return home and aren’t immediately employable in trauma care
because their military education, training and experience don’t readily
translate. This is a loss for both the Medic and a loss for the
community, who could use those extraordinary skills to help those in
need.
Only
4 of 50 states have enacted legislation that facilitates the crediting
of military education, training and experience toward the licensing
requirements in an equivalent civilian occupation.
The
Department of Defense is working hard on behalf of Service members and
Veterans to expand state support. We’re at the infancy of change here;
but the clear goal is 50 of 50 states “buying in” to change that makes
sense. Read more about these efforts.
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