IAVA Praises New White House Initiative For Military Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 12, 2011

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New York– Today, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the country's first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, issued the following statement applauding the White House’s launch of Joining Forces, a new high-profile, multi-faceted initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to support our nation’s military families:
 

“Today, the First Lady and Dr. Biden have issued a challenge to America and initiated a new movement to support military families. This is a great first step. We’re encouraged to see them leverage their powerful platform to rally Americans around these important issues. Their leadership in this space starts a long overdue dialogue at dinner tables across the country about the mounting challenges our military families face every single day,” said IAVA Founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff. “America must understand that when we deploy a service member, the entire family goes along for the ride. These families have been sacrificing for almost ten years. It’s time for the rest of America to help shoulder their load.
 
Though few details are available about the program’s specifics, we are hopeful the initiative will provide practical opportunities for every American to get involved in supporting military families. Of course, the end results are still what count most. Our members need to see real action and significant resources deployed on the ground in their local communities to prove the White House really means business. In the coming weeks, IAVA looks forward to working with the White House, General McChrystal and other leaders to ensure the Joining Forces initiative builds a strong, lasting support network for these military families nationwide.”

 
To arrange an interview with IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff or another IAVA Member Veteran, please contact Isabel Black, 212-982-9699, isabel@iava.org.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the country's first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has more than 200,000 Member Veterans and civilian supporters nationwide. Its mission is to improve the lives of this country's newest generation of veterans and their families.