Obama Addresses Veterans, Military Families at Langley

By Sam Thrift Wednesday, October 19, 2011

President Barack Obama and his wife brought their message of job creation to a packed Langley Air Force Base hangar Wednesday, where they told veterans and military families about White House plans to bolster job opportunities for service members and their spouses.

The event combined an announcement by the American Logistics Association, a nonprofit whose goal is to enable businesses to operate with the military resale system, about the creation of 25,000 jobs for military families and veterans by 2013 and the need to pass the American Jobs Act to support job creation for the group.

“Over the past decade, nearly 3 million service members, like many of you - our 9/11 generation of veterans - have made the transition back to civilian life,” Obama said. “There are far too many vets who have to struggle to find a job worthy of their talent. There are too many spouses having trouble finding jobs after moving city to city.”

As of June, one million veterans were unemployed and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 13.3 percent, according to the President. The unemployment rate for military spouses is almost double at 26 percent.

The numbers are not as staggering in the Historic Triangle, with the 2005-2009 Census Bureau American Community Survey showing a 1.7 percent unemployment rate for the 6,380 York County veterans in the labor force and 1 percent unemployment rate for the 3,785 veterans in the labor force who live in James City County.

President Obama commended the American Logistics Association and other companies, saying they have helped meet the challenge he posed to American businesses in August – to hire or train 100,000 veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013.

The first lady spoke about the troubles veterans and their spouses face while searching for jobs and advocated for Joining Forces, the national employment initiative to create opportunities and support for the families.

“The motto of Joining Forces is very simple: Everyone can do something,” Michelle Obama said. “The commitment [by the American Logistic Association] is the largest coordinated effort by a private sector to hire veterans in years.”

The American Logistics Association and their affiliate companies – which include companies like Tyson Foods and Coca Cola - contribute nearly $1.2 trillion to the economy and generate millions of jobs, according to a press release.

The backdrop behind the podium said “American Jobs Act,” which the President mentioned briefly in his speech, saying he expected those who stood and applauded the plan during his speech in the joint session of Congress to vote for the proposal when it comes to the Senate in the coming weeks.

“Don’t just applaud it, vote for it. It’s not just a Democratic responsibility or Republican responsibility - it’s an American responsibility,” the president said.

To read more on the American Jobs Act, click here.