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.
And don’t forget you can follow Joining Forces on Twitter and Facebook!
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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