Panetta, at Pentagon Memorial, Praises America’s Strength

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2012 – President Barack Obama, commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces, led a remembrance ceremony today at the Pentagon Memorial, 11 years to the day since terrorists crashed passenger jets into the western side of the U.S. defense headquarters, the top stories of the World Trade Center’s towers in New York, and the soil of a field near Shanksville, Pa., killing a total of 2,996 people.

First Lady Michelle Obama, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey and the chairman’s wife, Deanie Dempsey, accompanied the president as he placed a wreath at the memorial.

All bowed their heads, then Dempsey saluted and the rest placed their right hands over their hearts as a Navy bugler sent the sad, slow notes of “Taps” floating through the clear, cool September air.

Then, at 9:37, the exact time in 2001 that American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon’s western façade, the ceremony’s announcer asked for a moment of silence in memory of the 184 people -- ages 3 to 71 -- who died here that day.

Panetta told the crowd, which included friends and families of the 9/11 victims as well as past and current Pentagon employees, that that day forever changed 21st-century America.

The 9/11 attacks, he said, targeted “the symbols of American strength -- our economy and our commerce, our military might and our democracy -- and took the lives of citizens from more than 90 countries. It was the worst terrorist attack on America in our history.”

Those who died -- here, in lower Manhattan or in a Pennsylvania field -- whether they were passengers on one of the four planes, workers in the struck buildings or rescue workers, are “heroes forever,” the secretary said.

Panetta told the audience about his visit yesterday to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville. “I was reminded of those horrible moments after the hijacking when the passengers and crew were able to make frantic calls to speak to their loved ones for the last time,” he said. “They knew what was at stake, and yet they decided to fight back. Together, they took swift and decisive action to stop yet another attack targeted at the nation's capital.”

The action those passengers took that day, the secretary said, is one end of a chain that links them, their survivors, the nation’s citizens, and the service members who since that day have stepped up to protect freedom and deny terrorism a safe haven.

“Out of the shock and sadness of 9/11 came a new sense of unity and resolve that this would not happen again. … In trying to attack our strengths, the terrorists unleashed our greatest strength: the spirit and the will of Americans to fight for their country,” Panetta said.

Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader who orchestrated the terror, flames and death 9/11, died last year at the hands of American special operations forces. Al-Qaida is still a threat, the secretary said, “but we've dealt them a heavy blow, and we will continue to fight them -- in Yemen, in Somalia, in North Africa, wherever they go -- to make sure they have no place to hide.”

Sept. 11 is now, in America, a day of solemn remembrance, he said.

“Let us renew a solemn pledge to those who died on 9/11 and their families,” the secretary said. “It is a pledge we also make to all of those who put their lives on the line and who paid a heavy price for the last 11 years of war. Our pledge is to keep fighting for a safer and stronger future.”

Our pledge, he continued, is to ensure that America always remains a government of, by and for the people.

“That pledge, that legacy, makes clear that no one -- no one -- who died on that terrible day 11 years ago died in vain,” Panetta said. “They died for a stronger America.”

Family Matters Blog: Sailor Transitions to Sonar After Navy

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – When First Lady Michelle Obama and her "Joining Forces’" partners talk about service members needing transitioning into commercial work, they’re talking about people like Paul Michael Andrews.

Andrews joined the military young and without a college degree. The Navy sent him to school to be a sonar technician, and he spent most of his six-year military career operating the world’s most sophisticated equipment to detect and track foreign submarines from the USS Roosevelt guided missile destroyer.

Andrews had two deployments: one to Somalia, and another to eastern Afghanistan to serve nine months working intelligence for a provincial reconstruction team.

The former petty officer knew he’d had “some awesome experiences” in the Navy, but when he decided to separate, he said, the thought of a civilian job search was filled with anxiety. Like many of his shipmates, he had never written a resume and didn’t know where to begin.

“We don’t spend time tweaking our resumes and building our professional networks,” he said. “Our network consists of the men and women we serve next to.

“I knew that I had the skills to be successful,” Andrews added. “But I also knew that I couldn’t say that my strengths were finding foreign submarines in the ocean or tracking down the Taliban in Afghanistan. I didn’t think American businesses were looking for those skills, and I couldn’t imagine a job outside the military that would require those skills.”

That’s where Joining Forces and one of its partners, Orion International, came in. Andrews attended a job fair sponsored by the two and quickly garnered Orion’s help for making the transition.

“They clearly got it,” he said of the company’s ability to translate his military experience into a civilian resume. “What they helped me understand is that American businesses do value those skills.”

After some coaching, Orion helped Andrews gain an interview with Sonardyne International. Pretty soon, the Texas native was on his way to Houston for his new job working with sonar.

“I didn’t have to go a single day unemployed,” he said. “So, Joining Forces is real; it has an impact.”

Yesterday, Andrews introduced the first lady to a crowd at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., where she announced that Joining Forces’ had exceeded its goal of helping private industry hire or train 100,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013. To date, she said, the program has partnered with 2,000 companies that have hired or trained 125,000 veterans and military spouses.

'Joining Forces' Exceeds Hiring Goals for Vets, Spouses

By Lisa Daniel, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The White House initiative to hire veterans and military spouses has surpassed its goals, having led to the hiring or training of more than 125,000 veterans and spouses in the past year, First Lady Michelle Obama announced Aug 22.

Speaking to sailors and their families at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., the first lady said 2,000 companies have hired 125,000 employees through their pledges to the "Joining Forces" campaign, and, of those, 140 employers have hired 28,000 military spouses.

"That's 125,000 people who are providing for their families, contributing to our economy and serving the country they love," Obama said.

The first lady said she has a clear message to troops, spouses and veterans: "When you finish your service to your nation, you've got 2,000 great companies waiting to bring you on board. These companies are not just making these commitments because it's the right thing to do, which it is, but because it's the right thing for their bottom line."

Obama said she had heard "a thousand times over" from heads of companies who say veterans and military spouses are their best employees.

Unemployment still is too high for veterans and military spouses, but Joining Forces has helped to push the national veteran unemployment rate down nearly 20 percent from a year ago, Obama said. The veteran unemployment rate in July was 6.9 percent, compared to 8.6 percent in July 2011, Joining Forces officials said during a call with reporters Aug. 21.

Though the initiative has exceeded its goals, Obama said, the participating companies have pledged to hire another 250,000 veterans and spouses, with at least 50,000 of that total being spouses. "It would be understandable if these companies just stopped now and patted themselves on the back and called it a day," the first lady said. "But these companies are doing just the opposite."

The first lady and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, started Joining Forces in April 2011 to rally Americans to actively support service members and their families in areas of employment, education and wellness. A year ago, President Barack Obama asked Joining Forces to challenge the private sector to hire or train 100,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013.

"I thought this challenge was pretty ambitious," the first lady, said, noting that the effort was launched with just two partner companies. "Before long, companies all over this country had started stepping up." By April, they had hired 60,000 veterans and spouses, and by May, the number was 80,000. The federal government has made the same commitment, and veterans and spouses made up 28 percent of all federal hiring last year, a White House official told reporters.

Also at the event, Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, chief of naval personnel, said he supports Joining Forces because it has had "a huge impact" on Sailors, their spouses and veterans. "They've shined a spotlight on the unique needs and strengths of military families and veterans," he said.

The Joining Forces initiative to make professional licenses portable from state to state for military spouses is "near and dear to my heart," Van Buskirk said. His wife is a speech pathologist who has had to recertify multiple times, he explained.

"With constant transfers, our spouses face challenges that can be daunting," he added.

Railways Industry Announces Job Opportunities for Vets

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines considering separating from the active-duty military this year may seek employment options in the railways industry, which today became the latest to pledge jobs to veterans.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the 5,000-job pledge in a conference call with reporters, making rail the latest industry to offer jobs as part of the Joining Forces campaign. He was joined by Ed Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, and Navy Capt. Brad Cooper, director of Joining Forces, which First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, created to help service members, veterans and their families.

Obama and Biden announced the hiring campaign last summer, with a goal of hiring 100,000 veterans or military spouses by 2013. Today, Cooper said, 1,600 companies have signed on to the Joining Forces challenge, hiring 90,000 veterans and spouses with pledges to hire 170,000 more in the coming years.

What is unique about today’s announcement, Cooper said, is that the 5,000 rail jobs are open now or in the very near future. They are listed on the association’s website, http://www.aar.org.

The jobs, offered by about 500 companies, range from operating locomotives to working in signaling and telecommunications. “It’s the whole spectrum of work,” Cooper said. Most of the jobs are in freight rail, but also with Amtrak, commuter rails and rail supply companies, he said.

The industry is hiring because it’s growing, Hamberger said, with some $23 billion in investments at the same time that nearly a quarter of the freight rail workforce will be eligible to retire by 2015.

“We want to reach out and let veterans know that we’re hiring,” he said.

The industry has actively recruited veterans since it sought out military academy graduates to build the first railroad system more than 200 years ago, Hamberger said.

“We’ve learned that the skills service members learn in the armed forces translate very well to our industry,” he said. “We, first and foremost, are focused on safety. You learn in the armed services that if you don’t follow the rules, bad things happen.

“We need teamwork, dependability, and high tech,” he added, noting that military experience builds those skills.

The rail industry made more than 20,000 new hires last year –which was more than 5,000 than it expected – and one in four are veterans, Hamberger said.

Improving the nation’s railways and hiring veterans are two of President Barack Obama’s priorities, LaHood said. “Today’s generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world,” he said. “The president has asked that we serve them as they have served us.”

About 15,000 veterans work for the Transportation Department, LaHood said, and 3,000 of those have disabilities, many from their military service. The department recently created a Web portal – http://www.dot.gov/veteranstransportationcareers – “that tells our returning warriors what jobs are available and how they can become certified,” he said.

“Helping our veterans find work and fulfilling our transportation needs is a win-win,” he said.

First Lady Touts Spouse Licensure Successes

By Lisa Daniel and Amaani Lyle

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – Continuing her efforts to ease employment challenges from duty-related moves, First Lady Michelle Obama joined Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn in Chicago today as the state became the 23rd to facilitate the transfer of military spouses’ professional licenses.

Obama joined Quinn at the Illinois National Guard Armory, where the governor signed the “Military Family Licensing Act” into law.

Military spouses are the “folks who are giving their heart and soul to this country every single day,” Obama said. “Every time our country asks them to pick up their families and move across the country at a moment's notice, they do it and they do it with pride.”

The first lady also reminded spectators that homefront duties remain -- and increase -- for working military spouses while their uniformed husbands or wives serve overseas for months or years on end.

“On top of all that, they are some of the best volunteers in their communities,” Obama said. “They still find time to participate on the [Parent-Teacher Association], in their parish council, to support the Little League and the Girl Scouts. So we owe it to these individuals to get this licensing issue right."

The first lady said she intends to renew the call to action for all U.S. states to facilitate license transfers for military spouses. “This is an eminently solvable problem,” she added.

Getting states to ease the transfer of professional licenses for military spouses is a key issue for the “Joining Forces” campaign Obama started last year with Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden. They’ve set a goal of having all 50 states ease the burden of accepting military spouses’ out-of-state licenses by 2014.

In states without the eased restrictions, military spouses spend too much time compiling and transferring documents and being retested, and many decide it’s too much trouble, Marcus Beauregard, the Defense Department’s state liaison chief, told American Forces Press Service in a June 22 interview. “We started looking at how to truncate that time,” he said.

States require licenses for those in virtually every medical occupation, as well as teaching, social work, cosmetology and other fields, and the requirements vary from state to state, Beauregard said. Of working military spouses, one-third work in fields that require licenses, and most of those are medical, he said.

To ease the burden, some new state laws allow military spouses to transfer an out-of-state license with an endorsement of the office that issued it, Beauregard said, while others will accept the licenses with documents that validate the license or the holder’s clean business record, and other states issue temporary licenses for spouses to do business.

“We don’t ask them to lower any standards,” he said. “We just ask them to encompass military spouses in licensure more quickly.”

Teachers, generally, must go through a different process through each state’s Board of Education, Beauregard said. Attorneys also have not been part of the legislative effort, as their licenses must be approved by each state’s Bar Association. Last year, spouses in the legal profession created The Military Spouse JD Network, which lobbies the American Bar Association and state Bars to make attorney licenses more portable for military spouses, officials with the network said.

Military spouses whose work requires a license should prepare well ahead of a move by having a copy of their current license, as well as any documents needed to show the license is in good standing , Beauregard said.

“They need to be prepared for that transition, and hopefully, we will have the processes in place now to make it happen more quickly,” he added.

While processes vary from state to state, Beauregard said, license approvals usually happen in the state’s division of occupational licensing, as part of a consumer protection office, or a state board of health or education.

Since its launch, the Joining Forces initiative has helped significant numbers of military spouses and veterans alike, the first lady said today in Chicago.

“I want all of our military families to know that America does have your backs,” she said. “It is really a country that appreciates and cares about your service. Whether it’s fixing this licensing issue, or helping you find a job, or making sure that you and your family have the health care and benefits you’ve earned, we are working hard every day to serve you as well as you have served this country.”