Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Applaud Administration’s Focus on Military Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 24, 2011

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Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Applaud Administration’s Focus on Military Families
 

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, released the following statement in response to the White House's announcement of a new national initiative to support military families:

“Over 1.2 million military spouses and 2 million children have been impacted by at least one Iraq or Afghanistan deployment since September 11^th. The President and First Lady’s focus and commitment to support our nation’s military families comes at a critical moment after nearly 10 years of war. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans know first hand that when a service member deploys, their entire family deploys with them and the challenges can be great,” said IAVA Founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff.  “We’re encouraged to see the White House launch this important initiative to support these families who continue to sacrifice daily for our country. In the coming months, follow-through and accountability will be critical to ensure these programs are effective. We look forward to working with the President, the First Lady, Dr. Biden and the entire Administration to mobilize every government and community resource available so that this initiative is impactful. We hope the President continues to focus on these issues in the State of the Union tomorrow night.”

Through the combined efforts of the Administration, Department of Defense and local partners, the Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment initiative will address challenges facing military families including access to mental health resources, strengthening military children’s education, securing jobs for military spouses and improving child care programs. To learn more about this initiative, click here.

To arrange an interview with IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff, or Deputy Executive Director Todd Bowers, 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.