Kick-off Celebration for Military Spouse Career Advancement at the Pentagon

On November 14, 2007, I attended an event at the Pentagon announcing the Military Spouse Career Advancement Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Labor. Present at the ceremony were military spouses, employers, Congressional members, staff from DOD and DOL, and members of the press. Dr. David Chu, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, served as host of the event. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao described the $35 million education and training program for military spouses pursuing portable careers in high-growth, high-demand occupations in information technology, education, health services, financial services, and the construction trades.

The program offers military spouses Career Advancement Accounts to pay for expenses directly related to post-secondary education and training, including tuition, fees, books, equipment, and credentialing and licensing fees. The initiative targets military spouses with a GED, high-school diploma, or some post-secondary education and who are married to active-duty service members in the grades of E1-E5 and O1-O3. Accounts may be up to $3,000 for one year, and may be renewed for one additional year, for a total two-year account amount of up to $6,000 per spouse.

The DOD and DOL selected eight demonstration states targeting 18 military installations as follows:
• California (San Diego Metro and Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base)
• Colorado (Fort Carson Army Installation and Peterson Air Force Base)
• Florida (Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Eglin Air Force Base, and Hurlburt Field)
• Georgia (Fort Benning Army Installation)
• Hawaii (Hickam Air Force Base, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base, and Schofield Barracks Army Installation)
• Maine (Naval Air Station Brunswick)
• North Carolina (Fort Bragg Army Installation and Pope Air Force Base)
• Washington (Fort Lewis Army Installation, McChord Air Force Base, and Naval Station Kitsap)

After remarks from Secretary Gates and Secretary Chao, military spouses joined them on stage to sign the proclamation marking the official start of the program. The first Career Advancement Accounts will be issued in January 2008. While at the event, I had the opportunity to network with DOD and DOL staff, as well as distributed brochures to military spouses describing Mission Medical Transcription: A Career that Moves with You, the career outreach program AHDI and MTIA developed with DOD and DOL for military spouses.