Joining Forces Blog

Military Families, Victims of Tornados, Receive Donated Computers From Operation Homelink

Posted by SGT Michael J. MacLeod on June 2, 2011 at 3:57 PM EDT

Cross-posted from the OurMilitary.mil blog. This originally appeared in Paraglide, the Ft. Bragg base newspaper.

Six paratroopers whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the April 16 tornados that struck south of post recently received donated computers to help get their lives back online.

Given mostly to lowerenlisted Soldiers assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, the refurbished, high-quality, business-class notebooks came from Operation Homelink, a nonprofit outfit that traditionally provides computers to the Families of deploying Soldiers to keep in touch through e-mail, chat and web cams.

Spc. Patrick Briody, a medic with 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, describes how he freed his neighbors from underneath the wreckage of their house after it was thrown by a tornado against his rented Fayetteville home April 16, 2011. (Photo by Operation Homelink)

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Serving Those Who Serve Us

Posted by Katelyn Sabochik on May 30, 2011 at 1:34 PM EDT

This morning, Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, sent the email below to the White House email list encouraging all Americans to honor our brave men and women in uniform by supporting our military families and veterans.

If you didn’t get the email, be sure to sign up for the White House email list.

This Memorial Day, First Lady Michelle Obama and I are asking our fellow citizens to honor the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed so much for our country by supporting our military families and veterans.

Will you join me in sending a note of thanks to our military families? You can submit your message on JoiningForces.gov:

Our military families are true American heroes: they are parents who raise their kids alone while their spouse is deployed overseas, they are the grandparents who provide much needed support, and they are military kids who work hard in school while bravely awaiting their mom or dad's return from deployment. They serve our country bravely and without asking for recognition for their sacrifices.

That's why the First Lady and I started Joining Forces, a national initiative to recognize, honor and support our military families.

As a military mom, I know that a simple act of kindness can make a difference in the lives of our military families and veterans. Whether you offer to babysit or carpool, or just take a moment to say thank you, everyone can do something to support our service members and their families.

We are working with employers, with communities, with faith leaders, with schools and so many others. We can all join forces.

At JoiningForces.gov you'll find lots of ways to get involved. You can find service opportunities in your area, send a message of support to military families, or tell us your own story of service:

http://www.JoiningForces.gov

To all of our men and women in uniform, our veterans and our military families: thank you, we are so grateful for your commitment and sacrifice.

Sincerely,

Jill

P.S. We've created a special email list for more frequent updates about the Joining Forces campaign.

You can sign up here: WhiteHouse.gov/JoiningForcesEmail

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Behind-the-Scenes: First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden visit Sesame Street for Joining Forces

Posted by Kori Schulman on May 27, 2011 at 2:09 PM EDT

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden visit Sesame Street as part of the "Joining Forces" Initiative and Sesame's military families project, to tape Public Service Announcements asking all Americans to support our military families. © 2011 Sesame Workshop. Photo by Richard Termine.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden stopped by Sesame Street to film public service announcements for Joining Forces, their national initiative to support and honor our troops and their families. With Sesame favorites Elmo and Rosita, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden ask all Americans to get involved in anyway they can. Watch the PSAs below, some behind-the-scenes footage, and learn how you can get involved at JoiningForces.gov.

Watch the PSA, here.

Includes Video

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President Obama, Dr. Biden Hail Nation's Top Math and Science Teachers

Posted by Bobby Rosen on May 24, 2011 at 5:40 PM EDT

President Barack Obama greets teachers in the East Room of the White House, before the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching group photo, May 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) (Official White House Photo)

Cross-posted from the Office of Science and Technology Policy blog.

Some of the very best K-6 math and science teachers from across the country were zipping around Washington, DC, last week for a whirlwind series of exciting events. The teachers—all recipients of this year’s Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)—spent several days engaging with members of Congress and Administration officials and topped off their week with a meeting with President Obama in the East Room of the White House late Friday afternoon. The President, who has made science and math education one of his key priorities since taking office, congratulated the teachers and thanked them for their commitment to training the Nation’s youth in these subjects, which are so critical to America’s future.

The PAEMST is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on elementary and secondary school science and math teachers. In addition to meeting with the President, this year’s awardees were greeted earlier on Friday by Dr. Jill Biden, a longtime educator herself, as they and their guests participated in a tour of the White House’s East Wing. Dr. Biden took a moment to specially recognize two awardees who are currently teaching children of military families stationed in Hohenfels, Germany, through the Department of Defense’s Education Activity program.

Military students and their parents face a particular set of challenges, including parental deployment and frequent transitions. For this reason, Dr. Biden and the First Lady have made education at schools heavily attended by students from military families a focus of their Joining Forces initiative, which was launched last month to encourage all Americans to recognize and support military families, service members, and veterans.

Each year the PAEMST award, which is administered by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, alternates between granting honors to teachers of grades K-6 and grades 7-12. Recipients are given a $10,000 award and an expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, for an awards ceremony—hosted this year by OSTP Associate Director for Science and Nobel laureate Carl Wieman—and several days of educational and celebratory events. In addition to the President and Dr. Biden, the awardees met with NASA Administrator and former astronaut Charlie Bolden; EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson; Assistant Secretary of Commerce Kathryn Sullivan; Jim Gates of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; and members of Congress.

President Obama talks frequently about the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to our Nation’s strength and prosperity, and has visited science fairs as well as hosting one at the White Hosue last fall. In his most recent State of the Union address, the President committed to training 100,000 new high-quality math and science teachers within the next decade. Meanwhile, his signature “Educate to Innovate” campaign has attracted more than $700 million in donations and in-kind support from corporations, philanthropies, service organizations, and others to help bolster science and technology education in the classroom.

The PAEMST awardees are among the very best of the countless teachers in classrooms around the country who are working every day to nurture young minds and forge a better and brighter future for our country. Congratulations to them and their families!

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Honor Flights: Welcoming World War II Vets to D.C.

Posted by Jessica Slider on May 23, 2011 at 5:04 PM EDT

Cross-posted from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs blog VAntage Point.

My grandfather was a Veteran of World War II and Korea. He died in 1998, six years before the completion of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. As I was getting ready to leave my apartment on Saturday morning, I felt like I was getting ready to go greet him.

I was headed to Reagan National Airport for the arrival of several Honor Flights. The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit that transports Veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials. There is priority given to the most senior Vets—with service during World War II—and those with terminal illnesses.

The flights I was there to welcome came from Charlotte, North Carolina and southeast Minnesota, and each plane carried about 180 World War II Veterans. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I got to the gate, but it was a well-oiled machine: the bench seats had been moved aside, there were plastic chairs set out for the band, balloons, U.S. flags, service flags, and signs. The group of people gathered was about as diverse as you could imagine: young, old, Veterans, police officers, firefighters, Active Duty military, and their families.

I met some other VA employees while we all waited for touchdown, and they told me that as a “newbie,” I was probably going to cry. I’d anticipated that already. It started in the morning, wishing that one of the Veterans coming off the plane to see his memorial could have been my grandpa.

A voice over the loud speaker announced the first plane was wheels down, and invited anyone in the airport not loading a plane to head over to the gate. The band started warming up, and a crowd gathered, many of them waving flags. As the plane approached, two airport fire trucks formed an arch of water for it to roll under, and it arrived at the gate. Medical personnel deplaned first, and the band played the Star Spangled Banner.

The first Veteran came off in a wheel chair, his eyes wide as he took in the sites and sounds—music, flags, and a gate full of people waiting for him, eager to honor his service.

The handshakes, thank you’s and songs didn’t stop for the next 45 minutes as Veteran after Veteran came off the plane. Some were in wheelchairs, and had oxygen tanks. Some used walkers and others were able to move through the throngs of people with ease. Most were grinning, some flirted, and a few were so overwhelmed they cried. And as predicted, so did I.

Shaking their wrinkled and time-weathered hands, grasping their thin shoulders and looking into their smiling faces and watering eyes, it was like hugging my grandpa again. These Veterans, like my grandpa, were the embodiment of the Greatest Generation. It didn’t take much to make their day, and they didn’t come to D.C. for honor and recognition. But they sure loved us being there. To be honest, I don’t know if my grandpa would have signed up for an Honor Flight, knowing that a hundred people and a band would be waiting for him. He didn’t like a big fuss— but he would have taken it all in and appreciated it, smiled and shook hands with the crowd.

After the last Veteran deplaned, I turned and looked behind me and realized that a tunnel of people had formed, applauding the Veterans all the way out of the terminal as they made their way to the busses. It was the end of their arrival, and the start of a long day of touring.

The slideshow below includes a handful of photos I took at the event.

If you’re interested in volunteering in the D.C. area, you can visit this website to contact volunteer coordinators. If you know a Veteran who would like to come to D.C. on an Honor Flight, applications are available here.

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"Our Force is a Force of Families": First Lady Michelle Obama to West Point Graduates

Posted by Ray Kimball on May 23, 2011 at 2:37 PM EDT

Read the Transcript | Download Video: mp4 (269.3MB) | ()

Watch the First Lady speak at the West Point Graduation Banquet, here.

We came in to West Point under cloudy grey skies for the First Lady's speech to the Class of 2011. In fact, we found out that it had been pouring rain for the last five days! But as the plane touched down, the last of the showers swept through, the clouds parted, and beautiful blue skies greeted Mrs. Obama as she came onto campus. Similarly warm greetings came through from the community, from people waving to the motorcade as it drove by to the thunderous applause that greeted her as she entered Washington Hall for the Class Banquet. Lieutenant General David Huntoon Jr., the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy (USMA), noted that West Point and the First Lady shared a similar ethos that emphasized values and service.

In her remarks, the First Lady emphasized how important family had been and would continue to be in the lives of these new officers, reminding them:

Our force is a force of families...They’re military spouses who pursue a career, raise their kids alone, and still find time for night school. They’re children who move from town to town, constantly adjusting to new schools and making new friends. They’re Blue Star moms who wake up every morning and pray and pray that their child comes home safely. They’re Gold Star families who honor the memory of their loved ones while channeling their strength into serving others.

But the First Lady was also empathic that those families would not bear the burden alone. She reminded the class that an entire country stood behind them, and that through efforts like the Joining Forces initiative, the combined efforts of diverse organizations from government and business to faith-based organizations and school districts would be backing them up. She ended the speech with a stirring promise:

I want you to remember that this country and all of its citizens stand ready to serve you and your families. And I want you to remember that as long as we all do our duty, as long as we all serve with honor, then the fate of this country will never be in doubt.

First Lady Michelle Obama shakes hands with a young girls as she enters the West Point Graduation Banquet at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, May 20, 2011. Mrs. Obama is escorted by Lt. Gen. David Huntoon, superintendent at the U.S. Military Academy. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

First Lady Michelle Obama poses for a photo while attending the West Point Graduation Banquet at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, May 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

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