JOINING FORCES INITIATIVE

Summarized from ALARACT 443/2011, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are leading a national effort to rally Americans to action in support of military families, service members and veterans.

This initiative is called "Joining Forces" and focuses on energizing all sectors of American society from individuals, communities, businesses, philanthropists, non-profit organizations to faith-based institutions in order to give families, service members and veterans the support they require after nearly a decade of war.

The Army's commitment to families continue to yield outstanding results. In 2003, the Army stood up the Army Spouse Employment Partnership, assisting to ensure military spouses to realize their employment and career aspirations. This employment initiative has yielded over 114,000 employment opportunities to date and has been recognized by senior leaders in the Department of Defense.

Commands are encouraged to have their active duty and reserve force members, families and friends to following this initiative through the Joining Forces website located at http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces. Individuals are also encouraged to sign up for email updates and follow the initiative on Facebook and Twitter at http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/stay-connected.