Posts Tagged Deborah Mullen
Mullens Leave Legacy of Family Support
Posted by in Family Matters on September 30, 2011
By Elaine Sanchez
Elaine.sanchez@dma.mil
Sept. 30, 2011
I’ve heard Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deborah, speak at a variety of events, and can’t remember a time when the topic didn’t turn at some point to military families.
Even today, with the admiral’s retirement at hand, military families’ service and sacrifice remain front and center for this 40-plus year military couple.
In his farewell message to the armed forces today, Mullen said serving troops and their families has been the greatest privilege of his life.
“Everywhere Deborah and I went to see you and your families we walked away humbled by the magnitude of the responsibility you have volunteered to carry and strengthened by the willingness and dignity with which you carry it,” he wrote.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the burdens placed on you and your families,” he added. “Your sacrifices will be forever fixed in my heart, and I am eternally grateful for your service.”
During their four-year tenure, the Mullens have worked to bring light to the sacrifices made each day by troops and their families, and to improve the support offered to them.
This past summer, I attended the launch of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, a DOD program aimed at expanding job opportunities for military spouses. The Mullens were there to help kick off the program along with Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, another staunch military family advocate.
In her remarks, Mrs. Mullen acknowledged the difficulties military spouses face in finding jobs, not due to their qualifications or training, but due to their frequent moves.
Most of those job seekers are women, she noted at the time, “educated, resilient, serious women who possess strong values and even stronger work ethic.”
Spouse employment is just one of the many family issues the Mullens have addressed. To name just a few, they’ve spotlighted the importance of seeking mental health care, worked to improve care for wounded warriors, and reached out to the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Through his “Conversation With the Country” initiative, the chairman has encouraged local communities to understand the value of veterans and their families.
With his own farewell message sent, Mullen read his wife’s farewell to families during his retirement ceremony today.
“Nothing can be more trying at times than life in the military — the deployments, the stress, the uncertainty and the fear,” the admiral read. “But then, nothing born from ease and comfort can ever foster the pride and the resilience that military families exude every day.
“It has been my honor — my deep honor — to be a military spouse and a Navy wife, and to know so many others who wait and worry and work so hard.
“Thank you for your quiet sacrifice and for empowering me to represent your concerns. It has been the greatest privilege. I will miss the life and I will miss all of you.”
The Mullens may be headed off to what the admiral previously has called “a long winter’s nap,” but they leave behind a legacy of military family support that will last for decades to come.
Family Forum: Employment Partnership Marks New Chapter
Posted by in Family Matters on July 11, 2011
Deborah Mullen, a Navy wife and mom and a military family advocate, has been married to Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for 40 years.
By Deborah Mullen
I recently attended the launch of the Defense Department’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), a program that will expand career opportunities for military spouses among companies that are eager to hire them.
Fifteen companies joined the partnership June 29, giving MSEP a total of 72 employers who have committed to hiring America’s military spouses.
The ceremony, co-hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, marked the beginning of a new and important chapter in the story of military spouse employment. But, sadly, that story has not always been a happy one.
Many spouses seeking jobs have been turned away, not for lack of qualification or training, but because their loved one’s work requires them to move so much.
Many have had to accept jobs for which they were over-qualified and conversely, been denied employment for the same reason.
Many never had the chance — and still don’t — just to be interviewed, to have the opportunity to tell a prospective employer how much of an asset they could be to the company.
More than one spouse has told me: “All I wanted was to get in the door — to be judged on my merits, my qualifications and my strengths.”
Those living overseas face a similar set of challenges, as they struggle to compete with regulations that prefer the hiring of local nationals.
And too many of our wives and husbands here at home — including Gold Star spouses — have found the rules governing the Federal spouse hiring preference difficult to navigate, even when a job for which they are applying is listed as unfilled.
Surely, these challenges can be overcome. Most of them are bureaucratic, crafted with the best of intentions but perhaps with little thought to the unintended consequences they impel.
Any decision to hire someone represents a risk. We all know that. That’s why it’s such an important decision for any employer to make. They are taking a gamble on someone they don’t know.
Our spouses understand that, too. They aren’t asking for rules to be broken or for regulations to be cast aside. They know the economy is tough out there — that other really good, really smart people are looking for work.
This isn’t about entitlement for them. It’s about opportunity. Military spouses just want the same shot everyone else gets to take.
With the launch of this partnership, we are instituting change on their behalf. We’re making it easier for them to find work, and perhaps a little less frightening for employers to take that gamble and find the talent so resident in our ranks.
We all know that a job is so much more than a paycheck — it is respect and dignity and self-empowerment. It is the triumph of ability over disability, and the defeat of impoverishment … not just the impoverishment of one’s finances, but also of one’s spirit.
If this partnership lives up to expectations, we’ll go far to enrich that spirit.
Family Forum: A Pledge to Remember
Posted by in Family Matters on May 25, 2011
Deborah Mullen, a Navy wife and mom and a military family advocate, has been married to Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for 40 years.
By Deborah Mullen
May 25, 2011
Deborah Mullen
“Please don’t ever forget my son.”
That’s what a Mom — a Gold Star mother — said to my husband recently.
“He was my only son,” she continued, “and he died doing what he loved. But please don’t ever forget him.”
Michael promised her that he wouldn’t. He and I hear that same entreaty and make that same promise each and every time we have the privilege of being in the company of Gold Star families. These proud Americans have lost so much, have endured such pain. And yet they ask nothing for themselves. All they want is for someone, anyone, to remember the life and the service of a loved one.
And so we carry with us the photos and memory cards of their sons, daughters, moms, dads, brothers and sisters. We wear bracelets engraved with their names. We visit their graves when we can, and attend their funerals. We remember.
Monday is Memorial Day. In Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, the families of our recently fallen will spend another holiday weekend at the grave of a loved one. They will not be alone. They will be surrounded by other Gold Star families from these and other wars who share with them the same sacrifice and loss, the same pride and even some of the same stories. They will comfort one another, even as they grieve for themselves.
There isn’t much the rest of us can do to assuage that grief. The pain of such loss is incalculable. But we can, and we should, promise them that we will remember those who lived and loved and fought for this country — a young man or woman who, when duty called, performed that duty nobly and with passion. We can — and we should — take pains to remember also the special needs of surviving family members, especially the children. Theirs will be an extraordinary life.
If it’s true that a nation defines itself by those it honors, let us also define ourselves by those we support.
Editor’s Note: You also can follow Mrs. Mullen on Twitter and on Facebook.
Family Forum: Supporting Military Families Year Round
Posted by in Family Matters on May 3, 2011
By Deborah Mullen
May 3, 2011
Deborah Mullen, a Navy wife and mom and a military family advocate, has been married to Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for 40 years.
During the Month of the Military Child in April, there were picnics and parades, fairs and festivals in communities
Deborah Mullen
There is no issue nearer or dearer to my heart than reinforcing to our military children that they are, indeed, a key part of the military community and how equally important it is to recognize the sacrifices they make every day.
It’s one thing to be a military child during peacetime, quite another during a time of war. Every day, these young ones shoulder worry, stress and responsibility far beyond their years while mom or dad is deployed. It’s not just the missed birthdays and soccer games or helping mom with extra chores that dad would normally do. It’s the fear that their world can crumble at a moment’s notice.
When their parent comes home, the stress and challenges don’t necessarily disappear. It’s a safe bet dad didn’t return quite the same guy he was when he left. He, too, may have emotional and even physical challenges to face. And he, too, may be afraid … and perhaps even afraid to admit it.
Many of these kids have known only war … only worry.
Dealing with these things months and years on end, demands resilience and toughness – qualities innate to military children and something most are particularly proud of to be sure.
I can personally attest to the inner strength military families develop through deployments, frequent moves and new cultural experiences. There is, of course, much to love about a military life and a lot to value about the richness and diversity it brings to our children’s perspectives.
But as I meet with military families across the country, it is clear to me that a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan has challenged them, stretched them, and tested their resilience and strength in unprecedented ways.
That reality isn’t always readily seen or understood by the rest of America.
My husband Michael speaks frequently on this topic. He notes that today, less than 1 percent of our nation’s population serves in uniform.
We are concerned that people who used to have day-to-day connections with military men and women and their families may not know much about them anymore, so they are simply unaware of the stress and challenges these families face — a situation compounded by the fact that most military families bear their burdens quietly.
It is evident to me that people care and want to help. Often, they just don’t know what to do to support our military families in the ways they need it most, particularly as they transition back to their communities and to civilian life.
That’s why April’s Month of the Military Child and May’s Military Appreciation Month are important efforts that help us get moving in the right direction. They keep us talking. They offer avenues for appreciation and action. These things can only strengthen the connections between communities and our military. I also believe they can only strengthen our country.
There are many ways, big and small, to get involved. However people choose to support, the concept is straightforward. Our military men and women and their families do so much and sacrifice so much to take care of America. This is about doing everything we can to — together — take care of them … not just in April or May but year round.
Editor’s Note: You also can follow Mrs. Mullen on Twitter and on Facebook.
Mullen Presses for More Family Support
Posted by in Family Matters on July 9, 2010
Heather Forsgren Weaver, a colleague of mine at American Forces Press Service, is a regular contributor to Family Matters. Heather’s been heavily involved in this blog from the start. She edits, helps write and posts content on a daily basis.
In this blog, Heather writes about a recent podcast by Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife Deborah where they talked about increasing support for Guard and Reserve families. �
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, greets U.S. Army Spc. Dennis Morgan, Jr., and Autumn Gustausen during a departure ceremony for members of the Vermont National Guard in Burlington, Vt., Jan. 8, 2010. Morgan is deploying for a yearlong tour to Afghanistan as a member of the 89th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley
Family Networks Are Important
By Heather Forsgren Weaver
July 9, 2010
With all of the stresses of military life, families need support systems and the nation’s top military leader is working to make sure programs are available to eliminate the isolation that some National Guard and Reserve members and their families feel.
In a recent podcast, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife Deborah, expressed support for Guard and Reserve families.
Throughout his career, Mullen and his family have not felt the isolation felt by many Guard and Reserve families because they had a support network.
“In that family support network, there is a common understanding about what it means to be deployed. What it means to make the kind of transitions that we are asking so many of these families to make,” Mullen said. “When you get to the Guard and Reserve, they are isolated and they don’t have that support network.”
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Top Military Wife Visits Sesame Street
Posted by in Family Matters on October 16, 2009
Deborah Mullen, wife of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, takes a seat in Mr. Hooper’s store while visiting the Sesame Workshop studio in Queens, N. Y., Oct. 14, 2009. Mrs. Mullen was there to support the filming of a video aimed at helping military children and their families cope with the loss of a loved one. DoD photo by Elaine Wilson
By Elaine Wilson, AFPS
Elaine.wilson@dma.mil
Oct. 16, 2009
Yesterday, I wrote about my experiences on Sesame Street, where I attended the filming of a video aimed at helping military children deal with the loss of a loved one.
Along with meeting long-time Sesame Street favorites Elmo and Rosita, one of the highlights of my trip was the opportunity to discuss the production with Deborah Mullen, wife of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen.
Seeking a quiet place to chat, Mrs. Mullen , my co-worker and I ended up in Mr. Hooper’s store, that iconic set that serves as the backdrop to so many “Sesame Street” scenes. Perched on a lunch counter stool, Mrs. Mullen addressed everything from military family resiliency to coping with the loss of a loved one.
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