Joining Forces Blog

Delivering Jobs for Military Spouses

Posted by Brad Cooper on May 17, 2012 at 3:52 PM EDT

Our nation’s military spouses proudly face incredible challenges – from multiple relocations to running households with their military service member often thousands of miles away during deployments. With military spouse unemployment above the national average, our military spouses are seeking portable, career-oriented job opportunities.

I just left an extraordinary event at the Pentagon that will help connect spouses to those opportunities. Today, Military mom and Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden joined Department of Defense leaders to announce that 34 companies are stepping forward to join the DoD's Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), which helps connect military spouses with jobs. The Partnership’s member companies have pledged to recruit, hire, promote and retain military spouses in portable careers.

Already, the MSEP has delivered results – to date, more than 22,000 military spouses have been hired and more than 446,140 jobs have been posted on the MSEP jobs web portal.
- Are you a military spouse looking for employment? Visit the portal here
- Are you a company interested in joining MSEP? Learn more here
Learn more about Joining Forces initiative: Visit JoiningForces.gov, like Joining Forces on Facebook and follow @JoiningForces on Twitter.

Staff Sgt. John Carlin walks off the flightline with his family May 13, 2001, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. Sergeant Carlin is assigned to the 61st Airlift Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Chris Willis) May 13, 2001.

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Hiring America’s Veterans in North Carolina

Posted by Brad Cooper on May 16, 2012 at 5:25 PM EDT

In late April, private sector companies joined forces at Ft Bragg, North Carolina, for one simple mission: to hire transitioning service members.

More than 165 service members located at bases throughout North Carolina attended the very personalized, 2-day career transition event -- led by Orion International -- that included in-depth interview preparation and coaching, resume and presentation guides, presentations on career opportunities given by the employers who attended, and then at least 2-3 individual one-on-one interviews per service members with actual hiring managers from the employer organizations.

More than 100 service members who interviewed at the event are already moving forward to final interview/job offer stage with an employer.

Among these companies was Intel – who recognized talent when they saw it and have already hired 13 veterans from the Ft Bragg event. Marine Corps Sergeant Levi Studer landed one of the jobs at Intel. “I’m leaving the Marine Corps very soon and the stress of finding a job was overwhelming to say the least… but I have used the skills I gained from military service to land my dream job with Intel. I’ve heard that companies such as Intel want to hire former military for our work ethic and technical skills and the Joining Forces event proved it to me.”

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Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for our Military Families at National Parks and Public Lands

Posted by Dr. Jill Biden and Ken Salazar on May 15, 2012 at 6:41 PM EDT

As we celebrate Armed Forces Week, this is a particularly important time to pay tribute to the men and women who serve our country and safeguard our freedom.

Today, just one percent of Americans are fighting our wars, but we need 100% of Americans to be supporting our troops and their families –not just during Armed Forces Week, but all year long. That’s why we launched the Joining Forces Initiative last year to encourage all Americans to find ways to honor, recognize and support our veterans and military families.

Today, we are pleased to announce that we have a new way to thank those who serve their country in the military.

Starting on Armed Forces Day, this Saturday, May 19, we will be offering all active duty military a free annual pass that will grant access to service members and their dependents, to more than 2,000 sites across the country, including National Parks.

The annual pass will be accepted at all public land sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees, including those managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps.

Vice President Joe Biden, with son Hunter Biden, and granddaughters Naomi, Finnegan, and Maisy Biden, on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, July 27, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

From Yosemite to Acadia to the Grand Canyon, we are putting out a welcome mat for our military families at America’s most beautiful and storied sites.

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VA and Department of Labor Program to Retrain 99,000 Unemployed Veterans Is Now Accepting Applications

Posted by Brad Cooper on May 15, 2012 at 10:03 AM EDT

First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, and others watch as President Barack Obama signs the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (VOW to Hire Heroes Act) in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building South Court Auditorium, Nov. 21, 2011. The legislation provides tax credits to help put veterans back to work. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Last November, the President signed into law the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. Included in this law is a new program designed to help put veterans who aren’t eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill back to work – interested veterans can start to apply through the Veterans On-Line Application today!

The Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) offers up to 12 months of training assistance to unemployed veterans age 35-60. The re-training program will help our nation’s heroes gain meaningful training in a new skill that will increase their employability.

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Share Your Ideas for Improving Transportation for Veterans

Posted by Ray LaHood on May 14, 2012 at 1:00 PM EDT

Ed. note: This is cross-posted from fastlane.dot.gov

Yesterday, DOT helped launch a national dialogue on strengthening transportation choices for America’s military veterans, wounded warriors, and their families. This online conversation, “Strengthening Transportation Choices So We Can Serve Those Who Have Served Their Country,” is open until June 8, and we invite those interested in helping veterans and service members to participate by visiting veteransdialogue.ideascale.com.

The benefits Americans enjoy today wouldn't be possible without the courageous service of our nation's veterans. So when they return home, we must turn our sincere appreciation of the men and women who bravely protect and defend the United States of America into action. We must help them and their families find meaningful work, a good education, and quality medical care—none of which is possible without access to reliable, affordable transportation.

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#ThankAMilitaryMom: Your Words of Appreciation

Posted by Ari Isaacman Astles on May 13, 2012 at 9:23 PM EDT

The First Lady and Dr. Biden are encouraging all Americans to share their gratitude in support of military families celebrating Mother's Day today. See how Americans across the country are recognizing the contributions of military moms below or on Storify. Learn how you can show your support for military moms by visiting our Joining Forces site dedicated to thanking them, contribute to the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #ThankAMilitaryMom, and check out the Joining Forces Mother's Day card here.

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