Our Military Families: VFA Working with Blue Star Families
In the wars that America has been fighting since 2001, almost two million soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen from our all-volunteer military have served in Iraq and Afghanistan with courage and valor. Less visible but no less honorable are the sacrifices endured by America’s military families. The spouses, children, parents, and grandparents of our men and women in uniform endure sleepless nights and a nagging dread lurking behind the quiet pride in their loved ones who are serving overseas.
Veterans for America have done extensive research on the needs of our returning servicemembers through initiatives like our Wounded Warrior Outreach Program, but much less has been done to assess and address the needs and concerns of the 2.9 million military spouses and 1.3 million military children, and millions of military parents who have anxiously waited through lengthy, repeated deployments and who have helped our servicemembers readjust upon returning home, as well as helping many of them return to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Blue Star Families, a great organization that VFA has been proud to work with in recent years, is conducting an extensive survey of the needs of military families. These results will be presented to the Obama Administration and Members of Congress.
If you are the member of a military family please take a moment to fill out the survey, or if you know members of other military families, please tell them about it.
Just as VFA’s outreach to our returning servicemembers and their families has helped improve their combat-related care, better information about our military families will help shape policy and programs to ensure these heroes receive the support merited by their great sacrifice.