Joining Forces Blog

Dr. Jill Biden Honors Winners of the Joining Forces Community Challenge

Posted by Kirsten White on April 11, 2012 at 4:49 PM EDT

Yesterday, Dr. Biden joined General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Deanie Dempsey, to congratulate the finalists and winners of the Joining Forces Community Challenge. Dr. Biden and Mrs. Dempsey sat down with the winners to hear their stories. The winning organizations provide scholarships for military families, greet and support troops and families at an airport in Minnesota, collect hockey equipment for military children, provide retreats for military families reuniting after deployment, provide free mental health services for members of the military, and extend support from an entire community to a local National Guard unit.

Dr. Jill Biden, Mrs. Deanie Dempsey and USO President Sloan Gibson congratulate the finalists and winners of the Joining Forces Community Challenge at the Pentagon.

The JFCC winners told Dr. Biden and Mrs. Dempsey how important it has been for their organizations to establish a personal connection to the military families they support. Shane, a founder of Defending the Blue line, shared how he and others in the organization have been personally impacted by the children they have helped. The organization recently donated hockey equipment to a 7-year-old boy whose father was killed during his deployment. They learned that the boy loved playing hockey, and that it was so important for him to get to the rink and bond with other kids. His coaches formed a web of support for the boy while he was grieving, and they have become like father figures to him. The equipment Defending the Blue Line provided for him is helping him through his grief. Shane told the group how that experience meant so much to him and other volunteers.

All twenty of the JFCC finalists are winners. They are making the difference in the lives of military families every single day. They are shining examples of what Joining Forces is all about, and Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden hope their stories inspire all Americans, and demonstrate that anyone can find a creative ways to support these brave families, who have given so much to all of us.

Check out this slideshow highlighting the first year of Joining Forces:
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- The First Lady speaks during the launch of Joining Forces in the East Room, April 12, 2010.
  
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- The First Lady and Dr. Biden participate in a taping on the set of "Sesame Street" in Astoria, N.Y., April 18, 2011
  
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- The First Lady participates in a panel discussion at the Writer's Guild of America in Los Angeles, Calif.
  
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- The First Lady huddles with military family children at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., July 5, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady visits the Naval Air Station Oceana Summer Camp in Virginia Beach, Va., July 21, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady reacts as the Jubilee House is revealed in Fayetteville, N.C., July 21, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady talks with a girl during a Military Family Cookout at the New Hampshire National Guard headquarters in Concord, N.H., July 2
  
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- The First Lady and Dr. Biden paint a wall in the home of Sgt. Johnny Agbi, Jr., left, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2011.
  
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- The President and First Lady have lunch with active duty and retired military personnel at a restaurant in Hampton, Va., Oct. 19, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady and Dr. Biden attend Game 1 of the World Series with Marine Lance Cpl. James Sperry and his daughter in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 19, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady delivers remarks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Business Steps Up: Hiring Our Heroes” event in Washington, D.C., Nov. 10, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady and Dr. Biden watch a NASCAR race with military families at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., Nov. 20, 2011.
  
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- The President signs the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 in the South Court Auditorium, Nov. 21, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady walks with children past the official White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room, Nov. 30, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady introduces President Barack Obama at Pope Army Airfield in Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 14, 2011.
  
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- The President and First Lady greet troops at Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 14, 2011.
  
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- The First Lady shakes hands with veterans and medical personnel at Virginia Commonwealth University AAMC-Medical Center in Richmond, Jan. 11, 2012.
  
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- The First Lady attends an iCarly screening at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Va., Jan. 13, 2012.
  
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- Dr. Biden greets wounded warriors and their families at the Wounded Warrior Hope and Care Center at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Jan. 20, 2012.
  
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- The First Lady visits the dining facility at Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Ark., Feb. 9, 2012.
  
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- The First Lady walks with participants in the Defending the Blue Line program in Minneapolis, Minn., March 16, 2012.
  
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- The First Lady is photographed with a guest during the Department of Defense dinner in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 29, 2012.
  
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- The First Lady and Dr. Biden stand for the national anthem at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Feb. 15, 2012.
  
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- A message written by First Lady is seen on a U.S. Marine Corps flag at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., April 4, 2012.
  
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The White House Business Council's Guide to Hiring Veterans

Posted by Rosye Cloud on April 10, 2012 at 12:49 PM EDT

The number of veterans transitioning from active duty service to civilian life will increase over the coming years, and the Obama Administration is committed to doing everything in its power to assist them in re-entering civilian life and finding employment. As part of this effort, the administration is collaborating with small businesses and organizations throughout the country to make sure they have the resources they need to support and hire our veterans.

Across the nation, many entities (non-profits, for-profits, civic organizations, institutions of higher learning, community-based efforts, etc.) are committed to assisting Veterans as they transition out of the services and pursue civilian careers, higher education, institutional positions, or start their own businesses. To bring all of these entities together in a collaborative atmosphere, the Administration has developed the White House Business Council. The White House Business Council holds a series of multi-city forums throughout the year with over 500 cities to create a discussion focused on improving economic conditions and job creation. The forums feature high level discussions between senior White House and Administration officials and successful local area businesses and organizations. Small business owners are an important engine of economic growth, and these forums help focus the tools and resources they need in order to start, grow, and create jobs.

To complement these forums, the White House Business Council has prepared A Guide to Hiring Veterans; a manual outlining guidelines for receiving tax credits, accessing recruitment resources and seeking other information on hiring, training, retaining and supporting veterans in the workforce. This guide is intended to provide an organization the information needed to recruit, retain, support, and educate veterans in both in their local area and across the nation. The guide answers common questions such as how to locate and hire veterans, how to accommodate employees with disabilities and how to address veterans’ psychological and mental health concerns.

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A Government-wide Priority: Connecting Employers with Veterans and Their Families

Posted by Rosye Cloud on April 10, 2012 at 12:33 PM EDT

The President is committed to supporting our nation’s Veterans, Reservists, and Military Families as they transition to civilian life. To that end, unprecedented inter-agency collaborative efforts and the Joining Forces initiative have made a difference. There has been a groundswell of support for Veterans from the federal government, private industry, local communities, and individuals. Federal agencies, much like private industry, recognize the talent, ethos and relentless perseverance found in amongst this community.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is setting a great example with its support of our Veterans, Reservists, and Military Families. Many people do not think of agriculture when they consider delivering meaningful services and opportunities to our military personnel. But a large proportion of service members and Veterans call rural America home. USDA works to support this community, with a host of successful programs that assist military families with training, education, and employment.

USDA has launched a special task force that is working hard to expand these programs, get the word out about them, and fulfill the needs of military families in new and meaningful ways. Technological advancements have changed the face of farming and ranching in America, and USDA recognizes that Veterans have the advanced skills and training to cultivate the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

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Learn more about Veterans
First Lady Announces 15,000 Jobs for Military Spouses

Posted by Brad Cooper on April 4, 2012 at 6:58 PM EDT

Earlier today, I joined with First Lady Michelle Obama, to announce a major commitment by forward looking businesses that have launched an ambitious new effort to deliver more than 15,000 jobs to military spouses and veterans in the coming years. This new effort will help deliver jobs that are physically located near bases, as well as thousands of highly sought-after at-home employment opportunities to military families across the country.

Military families are 10 times more likely to move across state lines than civilian families. Home based jobs are especially valuable for military families because they can move with military spouses as they relocate from base to base across the country, accommodate flexible work hours, enable spouses who care for children or elderly parents to work from home, and give home-bound veterans with disabilities new opportunities to have a fulfilling job.

At home jobs with flexible work schedules can also lead to better work life balance, and extend job opportunities into communities often left behind. Military families will also benefit from the new job commitments being announced at nearly two-dozen physical contact centers located in close proximity to active military bases. These contact centers often support military families through: family-friendly scheduling, maintaining service accrual records, enabling the seamless transfer from one contact center to another in an event of a relocation, as well as extensive training and immense growth opportunities from agents to supervisors.

These companies and their associated job opportunities will also be integrated into the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), a Department of Defense-led effort with more than 100 companies in the private sector who have committed to a focused effort on military spouse employment. MSEP was launched by Dr Jill Biden last summer.

Additional information specifics of the commitments can be found at: www.joiningforces.gov/commitments

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A Wounded Warrior Embraces the New Normal: Part Three

Posted by Arturo R. Murguia on March 30, 2012 at 12:13 PM EDT

Editorial Note: This is the third in a three part part series (Part One and Part Two) on Master Sergeant (retired) Jeffrey Mittman and his journey from being wounded in Iraq to his employment with the Department of Defense and includes a forward by Major (ret) Arturo R. Murguia.

Today, we close out our series on Army Master Sergeant (ret) Jeffrey Mittman. While we focused on Jeff and his story, there are hundreds of “Jeffrey Mittmans.” They are the young men and woman who decided to give up their personal freedoms because they believed in something greater than themselves and defend our Nation.

Tragically, in this conflict some have made the ultimate sacrifice, some, like Jeff, have been severely wounded and some carry with them the hidden scars of war.

This series isn’t just about Jeff –it’s about how wounded warriors like Jeff can make your agency that much more successful by virtue of their experience and the adversity they have faced and overcome.

Jeff, and veterans like him, is a “force multiplier” –that is, an entity which exponentially raises the effectiveness of its unit. And that is exactly what you will hear from Jaime Charlson, DFAS Organizational Management Office Specialist. Jaime will tell you what wounded warriors like Jeff bring to the table. He will also tell you about the Federal Hiring and Federal Accommodation tools that agencies like DFAS use to bring in talent like Jeff.

It’s been ten years since 9/11. That means the majority of the Armed Forces have enlisted or re-enlisted during a time of war. They could have enjoyed the comforts of family and civilian life. Rather, they decided to pursue the profession of arms and defend our Nation. Now, as these wars scale down, it is our sacred duty to embrace and serve our Nation’s wounded warriors.

Major (ret) Arturo R. Murguia is a Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense

Jeffrey Mittman, an Army veteran of 22 years, including four combat tours, was severely wounded when a roadside bomb blast caused injuries to his face, eyes and arm in 2005. While he completed his recovery and transition out of the Army, he earned one master’s degree and started another. He started speaking at events and on Capitol Hill and worked at the National Industries for the Blind.

This January, Jeffrey was hired through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)“Hire a Hero Program.” The DFAS Hire a Hero Program is run by a specialized team dedicated to recruiting wounded warriors, expediting the hiring process and ensuring appropriate accommodations are available.

“Veterans, like Jeff, bring skills to DFAS that we look for in all our employees—leadership, teamwork and mission-focus,” said Jaime Charlson, DFAS Organizational Management Office Specialist. “It is a win-win situation for DFAS and the veteran.”

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A Wounded Warrior Embraces the New Normal: Part Two

Posted by Frances Johnson on March 28, 2012 at 7:03 PM EDT

Ed. note: This week, warriorcare.mil will feature the story of a catastrophically wounded Service member and his saga of recovery to employed Veteran. In an effort to highlight what our wounded veterans can offer to private and public organizations, we chose to focus on retired Army Master Sergeant, Jeffrey Mittman. His story is one of conviction and the dogged determination necessary to continue with his recovery and his successful transition to civilian and veteran life.

In order to bring his story full circle, we have invited his wife, Christy, and his employers from the DoD’s Defense Finance and Accounting Office (Indianapolis) to give their account of what this journey has meant for them as well. We began the series with Christy Mittman’s account of her husband’s injuries and how her family’s life was changed forever. The second post in the series tells the story from Jeffrey's perspective.

Jeffrey Mittman spent 22 years in the Army, including four combat tours, and he is fond of saying that he only had one bad day in his whole military career.

That day was July 7, 2005.

Deployed to Iraq as part of an eight-man advisory team, Jeffrey and five team members were moving out to meet up with their Iraqi counterparts. It was Jeffrey’s day to drive the up-armored humvee. So, when a roadside bomb blast came through the driver’s side window, Jeffrey took the worst of it. The blast was big enough to leave a hole in the side of the humvee the size of a man’s fist. It took off Jeffrey’s nose, lips and teeth. He was left with only peripheral vision in one eye. His right hand and arm sustained irreparable damage.

“I woke up a month later at Walter Reed to the sound of my wife talking to me,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey would spend another two-and-a-half months in the hospital before he could finally go home to Indianapolis, Ind., though it would take a total of 40 surgeries to repair the damage that had been done. Jeffrey spent five-and-a-half-years—the last quarter of his military career—recovering.

There wasn’t much question that Jeffrey’s time in the Army was over—“They don’t need too many infantrymen who can’t see and have no trigger finger,” he quipped—but doing nothing was also not an option.

“I had the responsibility of taking care of my family,” said Jeffrey, who has two daughters. “I couldn’t just sit back.”

And so, Jeffrey went to work. During his recovery and transition he completed one master’s degree and started on a second. He began sharing his story at speaking events and on Capitol Hill. After hearing him speak at an event, the National Industries for the Blind offered Jeffrey a job. In January of this year, he started a new position in the corporate communications department of the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS).

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