Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Mrs. Obama: All right, everyone, take a seat, and have a glass of wine --
(laughter)
-- all right, because I'm going to sell you guys out.
(laughter)
They were passing around a little glass, and I was like, what's that?
(laughter)
So please feel free. Don't wait till I leave when the desserts come out to get the wine.
(laughter)
I'm really thrilled to be here. Thank you, Holly, for your kind introduction and for
your support of our Air Force families and for all the work that you've done to put together
this luncheon, as well as the entire committee. I know that it's hard enough to pull off something
like this, but then you invite the First Lady --and all my stuff --
(laughter)
-- and it becomes a little bit harder. But this is absolutely wonderful. I've had a great
time, and I'm just thrilled to be here. So again let's give Holly and the entire committee
a big round of applause for all the work that they've done.
(applause)
And I'm going to be especially nice to Holly because her husband commands the Air Force
District of Washington. So he not only keeps the skies of Washington safe, but he's responsible
for when my husband comes back on Air Force One.
(laughter)
So Holly, you and me, we've got to get together --
(laughter)
-- and get this thing worked out. But it's really an honor to be here with all of you.
I also want to thank Elizabeth Biddle for the invocation, as well as the beautiful rendition
of the national anthem. I want to thank all of you at JAFOWL, the committee, for this,
you know, just wonderful invitation and for bringing us all together. As we saw earlier,
doing the medley, which you all got really fired up about, I like that --
(laughter)
-- we see that Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard -- Active, Guard and Reserve
-- we all are one force and we're all one family. And you always feel it when you're
in a room full of wonderful spouses. And it's also great to see so many familiar faces,
people that I've worked with over the course of the year -- Becky, Deborah, Mary, Sandee
and others, all the wives of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- women who do so much for our military
families and who I'm very proud to call my friends. In fact, we just had a few of you
guys over for dinner last week. We had the Joint Chiefs, the combatant commanders and
their spouses over for dinner a few weeks ago at the White House. And it was a wonderful
evening, very inspiring, because we shared the evening with several wounded warriors.
So it was wonderful to have you at my home, and I'm happy that we're switching the tables
today. Now, I know this is the Joint Armed Forces Officers' "Wives" Club, but today
I want to start by thanking you, not simply because of who you're married to, but because
of what you do every day, because of the spirit of service that's defined your entire lives.
You all are truly leaders in your own right. And I don't know if you hear that enough,
but it's real. You are the vital link between your husbands and the troops they command,
making sure their needs and those of their families are heard and met. You're often that
mom away from home, the person that other military wives go to for advice and support.
And it's always amazing because you do all of this for other families even as your own
families serve. For that alone, you all deserve this nation's unending gratitude. But, you
not only provide support to your husbands and to other families. Many of you have also
watched your own sons and daughters put on the uniform and go into harm's way. And you've
experienced all the emotions that come with that -- all the worries, all the anxieties,
but also that incredible pride. So I want to particularly thank all of the Blue Star
moms who are here today, and I'd like to have you all stand. Thank you.
(applause)
And I also want to salute another remarkable group of women who I know here today -- the
women, who for nearly 40 years, have made sure that no American is ever buried alone
at Arlington National Cemetery. Please join me in thanking the Arlington Ladies. Please
stand, ladies.
(applause)
And finally, some of you not only married someone in uniform, but we sometimes don't
remember that many of you also wore a uniform yourself. You volunteered, you served, you
defended our freedoms. So, please, would all the women who served in the armed forces please
stand and be recognized. Yay!
(applause)
To all of you, thank you. Thank you for your service to this country. So the President
and I, as you've heard, and our daughters, we've been in the White House for a year now.
(laughter)
It's been a year. As a mom, I often say my priority this year has really been the girls
-- making sure that they make this transition smoothly -- as smoothly as possible. I mean,
you think about it, these little girls, they've had to get adjusted to a new city, a new house
-- it's a nice house, but it's still a new house --
(laughter)
-- to a new school and new friends. And so when people ask me what I'm most proud of
this first year, I usually give them two responses. I usually say, first, as a mother I am most
proud that our two girls have made that adjustment and they've built a new life here and are
happy and healthy, and as I say, as normal as they could possibly be under these circumstances.
I joke that I still recognize them.
(laughter)
So that's a good thing. Then the other response is as First Lady. And I tell people that at
the top of the list of priorities that I've had over this year, it's been the time that
I have spent highlighting the service of our incredible military families. And that's what
I want to talk about today with you. I want to talk about what you do for America and
also what America needs to do for all of you. From day one, this has been a mission of mine,
along with the Vice President's wife, Dr. Jill Biden -- my dear, dear friend and a Blue
Star mom herself -- who has been a tireless advocate in support of our extraordinary National
Guard and Reserve members and their families. Jill and I have been working *** this.
One of the first things that we wanted to do was to first listen and learn. So with
many of you we had a series of roundtable discussions -- thank you all -- with our military
spouses. We met with Deborah and Sandee and other wives of the Joint Chiefs to get their
advice and guidance on how to develop our initiatives, and that was incredibly helpful.
We also met with the senior enlisted advisors' wives to discuss what's working in the ranks
and what also could be improved. These conversations gave Jill and I just really critical guidance
and insight for what would be our subsequent visits to bases and military communities around
the country. And as I think back on all the incredible experiences of this past year
-- and we have had many -- I've met the Queen, the Pope -- we've done a lot --
(laughter)
-- I have to say that those visits to the military bases have been one of my greatest
privileges as First Lady, truly. Through these interactions that we've had, I've gained an
even greater level of respect and gratitude for our troops and their amazing families.
It is a sight to see. I remember visiting the soldiers and their families at Fort Bragg,
one of my first visits with Charlene Austin -- and we were just talking about that. She
hosted me for my first visits. And there I saw firsthand the toll that these wars have
taken on these soldiers who have carried so much of the burden of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. I will never forget the families that the President and I met at Fort Hood
after suffering such a horrible tragedy. They showed us incredible strength -- the strength
that binds Army families together. I remember the sailors and their families at Norfolk,
and what a thrill it was for me to share their excitement as we welcomed home the crew of
the aircraft carrier, the USS Eisenhower, and the hospital ship Comfort. They were coming
back from treating patients and delivering health care and humanitarian assistance across
the Americas, including Haiti. And as we all know, only after a few short months at home,
the Comfort is back in Haiti, along with many other branches of our military, delivering
aid with their civilian counterparts, helping the Haitian people, and all the while showing
the very best of America and making us all so proud. I remember visiting the airmen and
women and their families at Eglin Air Force Base where some of the pilots and crew had
just returned from Iraq; it was their sixth deployment in as many years. I think of the
Coast Guardsmen and women who will serve aboard the new cutter that I am proud to sponsor,
the Stratton, which honors Commander Dorothy Stratton, who led the SPARS during World War II.
(applause)
And I can never forget our Marines, who are a part of our daily lives at the White House
in a very special way. And we see them display the same professionalism in our home every
single day that defines their service around the world. They are a joy to have in our lives.
And then we can never forget our wounded warriors -- the inspirational men and women that the
President and I have welcomed to the White House and those we have met all around the
country. Unfortunately for too many of them, the battle continues even after they come
home. They are the servicemen that I met at a VA hospital in the Bronx, working so hard
to get back on their feet, and in some cases to get back to their units. That's all they
cared about. They're the patriots like the young Navy SEAL who joined us at the Joint
Chiefs dinner last week at the White House. This young man attended the dinner with his
little sister. I got to sit next to them. She was a nurse who moved to Washington to
care for her brother -- left her career behind. And he explained to me how he stepped on an
IED in Afghanistan and lost both of his legs. Then just four months later he finished a
half-marathon. The courage -- yes --
(applause)
-- the courage and the optimism of both he and his sister was breathtaking. Their continued
love of life and of country was something to behold. And I will always remember all
of the wives and husbands, all the moms and the dads that the President and I have met
at Arlington on Memorial Day and Veterans Day and all around the country -- spouses
who've lost their best friend in the world; parents who have laid their children to rest.
And as a wife, as a mother, I simply cannot imagine the depths of their pain and loss.
Yet every time I meet them, they show a strength and a resolve that always leaves me in awe.
Their sacrifice reminds us all that our men and women in uniform, as well as their families,
are our nation's greatest military asset. So at every one of these visits that I've
had, collecting these memories, my goal has been simple. First, to listen. Listen to those
voices, listen to those concerns, listen to those needs. The second goal is to share what
I've heard with a team of dedicated leaders who also care deeply about military families
-- from the President, the Vice President, to Secretary Gates, to Admiral Mullen, to
leaders down the chain of command. These people care deeply. And finally, my goal has been
to work hard to ensure that the concerns and needs that we hear actually lead to some real
change coming out of Washington, because the quality of the lives of our military and their
families means a great deal, because in the history of our all-volunteer force, we have
never asked so much of so few. We've seen the huge burden of eight years of war on our
troops -- tour after tour, year after year, missing out on moments that every parent treasures:
a baby's first steps, the first words, the day the training wheel comes off the bike,
birthdays, anniversaries. We've seen the sacrifices of families on the home front -- spouses back
home left to do the parenting of two, juggling play dates and ballet recitals and practices;
keeping the household together all on their own; holding down jobs -- all the while trying
to hide their own fear and worries when the kids look up and ask when mommy or daddy are
coming home. And somehow despite everything that's going on in your lives, military families
still find the time to serve others -- coaching Little League, running the PTA, making Christmas
special for kids with Toys for Tots, volunteering at churches and hospitals, mentoring young
people, being role models in your own right. You just keep on serving -- keep on serving
your communities, keep on serving this country. And all of you, our troops and families, you
do your duty and you do it without complaint. No complaint here, right?
(laughter)
You give your all and ask very little in return, only that we back you up so our troops can
do their job. That's why my husband and his administration have worked to do right by
our armed forces and their families; to be there for you like you have been there for
us; to lighten your load as you have lightened all of ours. Because of your willingness to
advocate for change, all of you here, some really important progress has been made in
just one year. Deborah -- Deborah Mullen -- has been telling me ever since we met that
just like our troops; our spouses also need the very best support and counseling. Many
of you share the need to reduce the stress of long deployments and to give our troops
more time home between deployments. So this is what happened. My husband heard you, and
moved to increase the size of the military. That's why his first budget included pay raises
and funding for better military housing and more money for child care, in addition to
more funds for career development, counseling and support for spouses. Last year's budget
also included money to improve care and treatment for our wounded warriors, especially those
with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. And the budget increased major --
it made major increases in funding for veterans' health care, including women veterans, plus
the largest increase in the VA budget in more than 30 years. And something that I'm especially
proud of that we just talked about at the table, the President worked with the Congress
to extend the Family and Medical Leave Act to all our military families and to caregivers
of our wounded warriors, because just like other Americans, our military spouses need
to care for their loved ones without fear of losing their jobs. This commitment to our
forces and their families continues today. And I'm happy to announce that the President's
2011 budget that he'll introduce next week will further increase funding for military
family support programs by more than 3 percent to a record $8.8 billion. And this increase
is going to include funds for counseling and support for spouses and families, including
our Guard and Reserve families, to the tune of $1.9 billion. It includes $1.3 billion
to reduce shortages in military child care and to keep our military child care among
the best this country has to offer -- that's something that I got to see -- because we
can't forget that military kids also serve in their own special way. We can't forget
these kids. They're just like any other child in this country, except for the fact that
their lives are turned upside down every time their mom or dad has to go halfway around
the country, risking their lives so that all our children can enjoy the freedoms of this
democracy. It is so incredibly hard for these kids. As a result, they often experience more
anxiety; they can have a harder time focusing at school; they can have a higher risk of
depression. So we can never forget just how much these wars affect our military kids,
and we all have an obligation to ensure that these kids have the support they need at home
and at school. So I'm proud to announce that this year's budget will include more money
for youth programs for military kids. And then, at the direction of Secretary Gates,
the budget will also include funds to improve and build new DOD schools, from Georgia to
Germany. And this is all part of a major effort --
(applause)
-- this is part of a major effort over the next five years to renovate or replace more
than half of our DOD schools, which will benefit tens of thousands of children from military
families. In response to one of the top concerns expressed by military spouses, this year's
budget will also include $84 million for spousal career development, including tuition assistance
and federal internship programs. Yay.
(applause)
And I want to thank all the Coast Guard spouses who spoke to me about housing challenges -- yes.
(laughter)
As a result, the President's budget will include $14 million in new funding for quality Coast
Guard housing. And I know that's a big one.
(applause)
These are all major investments, and they are the result of military families speaking
up and being heard. And they are part of a larger ongoing commitment to care for our
troops and their families even after the fighting ends. But in addition to good government and
funding, supporting our troops and their families requires active citizens. That's why I've
made it a priority to keep asking all Americans to join the cause of supporting our military
families. And that's why last Veterans Day, Jill and I helped launch Mission Serve --
a national network that brings civilian and military service groups together to help support
our troops and families. But this network also encourages communities to tap that incredible
spirit of service of our military families, as well as the talents of our veterans. We're
asking Americans to engage and support military families any way they can, from business owners
helping veterans and military spouses find a job or develop skills, to professionals
in areas such as mental health and law offering their services pro bono, to ordinary folks
out there doing simple things like driving a carpool or offering to babysit or making
a home-cooked meal for a military family in their own community. Our men and women in
uniform and their families sacrifice for us, every single one of us, so every single one
of us can do something in return, even if it's something as simple as saying thank you.
Last spring, I had the opportunity to thank one of those military families during a visit
to the White House. Staff Sergeant Robert Henline was deployed to Baghdad with the 82nd
Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg when a massive explosion destroyed his Humvee, and
he was the sole survivor and suffered terrible burns over more than a third of his body.
Well, back at Fort Bragg, his wife Connie had to leave their three kids with family
and she made the trip to a hospital in Texas to care for her husband. So day after day
and month after month, Connie stayed by his bedside. She fed him and she tended to his
wounds, helped him through dozens of painful surgeries. And that's one story, part of the
story, because back at home, their oldest daughter, Brittany, helped to hold the family
together. And overnight, she went from being a 15-year-old teenager to a mom for her younger
brother and sister. She had to get her driver's license early so she could run errands and
do the shopping. She made the meals, she did the laundry, she helped with homework --
yes, a 15-year-old. And at night, her younger siblings would crawl into Brittany's bed and
seek the security that they would get from their mother. So when Operation Homefront
named Brittany their Military Child of the Year, the President and I were honored to
welcome the whole Henline family to the White House: the father who had endured such horrible
injuries, the wife who never left his bedside, and Brittany, the daughter who grew up faster
than she had ever planned. And when a reporter asked Brittany how a teenager could take on
so much responsibility, she did what you all do. She didn't speak of herself, but she spoke
of her younger brother and sister. And she said simply, "They needed me, and my priorities
changed. My family came first." So you see, that is the strength and the spirit and courage
that our military families display every day. You put your own priorities aside, you take
care of one another, and you take care of this nation. So as First Lady, I cannot thank
you all enough for that sacrifice, and I promise you that I will use every ounce of my energy
and being to make sure that America always takes care of you. So thank you, thank you
so much. Thank you for having me here, and have some wine.
(applause)
Mrs. Mishel (sic): I'm Claudia Mishel and I'm a Coasties' wife. So --
(laughter)
I'm here to thank Michele Obama for everything that she has done
and for coming to our luncheon and having food with us and
sharing her support for all military families.
And we want to give her a token of our appreciation that is --
military chocolates with each of the five --
(laughter)
-- the five service emblems are in include this, so --
Mrs. Obama: We have to hide this from my staff.
(laughter)
Mrs. Mishel: I think I speak for all of us here, we are truely in awe of you. So, thank
you so much. You are just beautiful.
(applause)