San Antonio: A Community Joining Forces

Yesterday afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden spent time with family members of wounded warriors at the Warrior & Family Support Center in San Antonio, Texas.  As part of their nation-wide Joining Forces kickoff tour, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden spent the morning with Marines and their families, and then traveled to Texas to visit with wounded warriors at Brooke Army Medical Center.

Later in the afternoon, they toured the Warrior & Family Support Center, a facility that gives families of injured service members a sense of comfort and home while their loved ones heal and rehabilitate. The Warrior & Family Support Center was started by members of the San Antonio community who wanted to express their gratitude for the military in their community. As the First Lady said during the visit, "And the thing that is amazing and one of the reasons why we wanted to come to this facility is because...all of this that you see around is donated by the community -- 100 percent of every salary of every brick of every piece of wood, of every bit of food. This is all done by the community."

The Center is a great example of how communities support our troops and families, an example of one community "joining forces" to show their thanks. Joining Forces is an initiative to raise public awareness about military families who live in communities all throughout the country -- not just on or near military installations -- and to encourage all Americans to do their part to show their appreciation and support.

Get involved at JoiningForces.gov.

Kirsten White is Policy Director for Dr. Jill Biden