Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist is speaking at the Military Spouse Employment Partnership induction ceremony in Arlington, Virginia, October 22, 2019.
Transcript
Please rise for the presentation of the colors by the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard for the Military District of Washington and the playing of our national anthem by the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. (band music) (man yelling) (background noise drowns out other sounds) (“Star Spangled Banner”) (men yelling) (band music)
Please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen before we proceed please join me in a round of applause for the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard and the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. (crowd applauding) Ladies and gentleman, again, thank you all for joining us today and we’re proud to say that this is the eighth year of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership. (crowd applauding) Today the Department of Defense has the distinct honor of inducting 42 new employer partners into the partnership all of whom have pledged to recruit, hire, retain military spouses recognizing both their unique talents and the challenges military spouses face as they too serve our country. Our new partners today represent small and large organizations including federal agencies with both the national and international presence. We’ll learn more about them in a little later but now would be a good time to let you know that throughout today’s and tomorrow’s events you can join us on social media with the hashtag MSEP2019, all one word. We’re extremely pleased and honored to be joined by so many senior officials and leaders from within the Department of Defense and from our partner federal agencies today. We’d especially like to thank the Deputy Secretary of Defense the honorable David L. Norquist for joining us today. Thank you, sir. (crowd applauding) And of course, we’d also like to extend a very special welcome to the many senior spouses in our ranks today and to the many other distinguished visitors and leaders from both the public and private sectors. To all of you, thank you for taking time out of your extremely busy schedules to be with us today as we celebrate military spouses. Please, a round of applause please. (crowd applauding) It is now my distinct pleasure to introduce our host for today’s ceremony the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy, Mrs. A.T. Johnston. Mrs. Johnston is responsible for policies and programs to support the readiness and quality of life of military families; for the portfolio spanning family support centers, childcare, Military OneSource, non-medical counseling, spouse employment and education, morale, welfare, recreation and resale policy; the Defense State Liaison Office; casualty, mortuary affairs and military funerals honors and much more. She is also a proud military mom, whose son will graduate this spring with the West Point class of 2020. (crowd applauding) Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming to the, for her remarks the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy, Mrs. A.T. Johnston. (crowd applauding)
Thank you, Dave. I’m pleased to welcome you all here for the eighth Military Spouse Employment Partnership Induction Ceremony. We’re excited to have you join us for this special event as we recognize our enduring partners and celebrate the induction of our newest class of partners into the Military Spouse Employment Partnership. (laughs) This year our theme is the power of connection and the accomplishments of this partnership let us know just how powerful connections can be. We’re honored to have so many distinguished guests with us here today. We’re grateful for Mrs. Leah Esper of Participation Today, the honorable David Norquist, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the honorable James Stewart, our leader in Personnel and Readiness, and the honorable Cheryl Mason, a staunch military spouse advocate and leader with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and so many other leaders across the federal government. I’d also like to thank my wonderful team who organized and made this event happen. They’re dedicated to making Military Spouse Employment Partnership a valuable resource for both military spouses and our partner organizations. And I appreciate their efforts. 2019 has been rem… Let’s see. 2019. I’m gonna try to talk loud. 2019 has been a remarkable year for MSEP and I want to commend our committed partners who’ve supported, recruited and hired and retained military spouses over the years. Thank you for understanding how critical military spouse employment is to the wellbeing of the military families and to our national security. Military spouses experience unique challenges when it comes to finding and maintaining meaningful employment. To our enduring partners, partner organizations who have stepped up, thank you. You’ve hired over 139,000 military spouses. (crowd applauding) Today I’m also pleased to welcome the new partners who join in supporting the future of military spouses through employment. We’re excited about the continued grace of partnership and the new opportunities for our military spouses and your organizations as well. On that note, I have an interesting fact to share about the growth of this partnership. Several of the representatives who will be signing with new companies today are responsible for bringing in new MSEP partners. These were folks who were affiliated with MSEP partners at a previous job. They’ve experienced firsthand the value of the partnership, they didn’t keep it a secret and instead they asked their new employer to join the partnership as well. And that’s how we’re going to continue to grow this. This is my third MSEP Induction Ceremony and I’m so excited because I finally get to say these words: We’ve exceeded the 400 partner mark. (crowd applauding) Yes, we now have more than 400 industry-leading, forward-thinking organizations from all across business sectors on our team. This year, it’s also worth noting that we will induct the largest class of federal agency partners today. The federal agencies joining the partnership today include the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Census Bureau. As I mentioned in my welcome, Cheryl Mason is here representing VA. She has been instrumental in bringing several agencies in and we want to say thank you for that. All of these agencies have answered the call to increase spouse employment within the federal government and enhance the non-competitive hiring authorities for military spouses. This is a huge step in the right direction and next year we hope to add even more federal agencies. I’d also like to ask our enduring partners to stand up. Enduring partner. All right. (crowd applauding) Thank you. In just a moment, each of our new partners will be recognized as they come up on stage to sign their pledge to be part of the Military Spouse Partnership. We still have plenty of work to do and each year thousands of spouses join their service members on this journey and we need to ensure they’ve got the jobs they want. So let’s a goal. And let’s set a big goal. Who here thinks that by this time next year we can have 500 partners? (crowd applauding) I’m glad to hear that applause because I certainly do. I believe that we can get there. And to reach that goal we all have to pitch in and dig deep. I’m asking each of you to promote Military Spouse Employment Partnership to everyone you know who might be a good fit. What companies do you work with who would be good for this partnership? Please share your experiences with the program, the connections you’ve made and the relationships you’ve formed. Let others know about the skills, abilities and work ethic of military spouses you’ve hired on your team. Spread the word that hiring military spouses just makes good sense. It’s good for business ans supports the financial welfare of our military families. And when you have another company that’s a good fit for the partnership, let our team know. And speaking of our team, I’d like to invite Manina Hoffens to come to the stage. (crowd applauding) Most likely, everyone in this room who has had any action, interaction with the partnership has either gotten a phone call or an e-mail from Manina. I just thought it was appropriate that everyone can actually see her face (people laughing) because Manina sleeps, eats and breathes employment opportunities for military spouses and I could not appreciate what she does more.
Thank you. (crowd applauding) So I want to thank you all for your commitment, your passion and your recognition of the value of the military spouses in the workplace. And with that, it is my pleasure to introduce the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the honorable David Norquist. Mr. Norquist, your support and commitment for military spouses is so greatly appreciated. (crowd applauding)
Good afternoon. How’s everybody doing today?
[Crowd] Good.
All right. So my understanding is as long as I don’t lose the letter P I can use this microphone, right? (crowd laughing) Which way partnership program is going to be a little bit of a challenge but (crowd laughing) we’ll see if we can get through this. So good afternoon, thank you Mrs. Johnston, for everyone for helping to ensure the success of the Military Spouse Employment Program. But we also thank who soon be arriving, Second Lady Karen Pence for championing the needs of our military families, Mr Stewart for his leadership of Personnel and Readiness, Mrs. Esper, Mrs. Milian and the other senior leaders and spouses in attendance today, and of course, my immediate boss Secretary Esper, who has made the wellbeing of our service members and their families a critical part of our National Defense Strategy. As Mrs. Johnston said we have a lot to celebrate. Over the past eight years, the MSEP has welcomed over 400 partners who have hired over 139,000 military spouses. That’s an incredible accomplishment. This represents remarkable progress to address an important issue for our nearly one million military spouses. 82% of these spouses are looking for work but 24% of them are unemployed. They face many challenges including frequent PCS moves, deployment, work life balance issues, childcare difficulties, and license portability. These factors make it extraordinarily difficult to maintain and rebuild careers. They take a toll on family wellbeing and increase financial and mental stress during an already stressful time. This is where each of us comes in. During my 30-year career in national security, I’ve grown to better understand the burdens our military families face and the importance of honoring the service of the spouses who work so hard and sacrifice so much to support our troops. Last week, I spoke with the Council of Governors as part of a regular meeting we had and we highlighted with them both the progress that several states have made to brake down the barriers to spousal employment and licensing but also how much more there is to be done. And those governors committed to making progress on this essential issue and we look forward to working with them to ease this burden across the country. The department will continue to call on states to emphasize this including singing on to interstate compacts and standardizing requirements for licensing. As you may have heard before, we recruit the service member but retain the family. That is why Secretary Esper has made taking care of military families a priority for the Department of Defense. Each company represented here today is a critical part of that strategy. Your participation in the MSEP and your hiring of military spouses fosters the readiness of our military and strengthens the total force. We’ve already seen the impact of your efforts. This May, the Department held its first ever MSEP Virtual Hiring Fair to connect the military spouses with partner employers and offer additional resources through the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program including resume reviews, mock interview sessions, networking and other support. The Hiring Fair was a great success with more than 120 MSEP partners in attendance. Many of them hired military spouses as a result and some of those companies are here with us today. The Department will co-host more virtual hiring fairs in the future with different industries including healthcare and technology to bring together spouses and employers seeking talented and experienced workers. And we are just getting started. We will continue to improve our programs to increase the quality of life for our service members and their families. One of the ways we plan to do this is a new roadshow concept coming soon, which will take our DoD programs on the road. A lot of work is done on the ground and at the installation level, which means the services play key roles in the success of this program. We will work with the services to identify installations around the country that could use MSEP’s support especially those that are highly populated or have low levels of spousal employment. We will visit these installations to meet military families, listen to their concerns and guide them to the resources that fit their needs, introduce them to MSEP partners and help them find military-friendly employers through their job search. We’ll make sure they know about Military OneSource and the Military and Family Life Counseling Programs and bring their message back to leadership so we can continue to improve our programs. Today, we celebrate 42 companies who are making great strides to provide a home to military spouses. These new partners are hiring spouses, working with the military installations to promote spousal employment, spearheading social media campaigns on this issue and strengthening the MSEP partner network. New organizations are helping us advance the National Defense Strategy by bolstering the readiness of the strongest fighting force in the world. Thank you all for being part of such an important mission. We are proud to induct you as members of the 2019 class of MSEP partners. And without that, before I wrap up, let me introduce our guest speaker, Mrs. Barbara Ashley. Mrs. Ashley is the spouse of the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Army Lieutenant General Robert Ashley. Today, she will share her own personal journey and experiences as a military spouse. We are thrilled to have her with us today and please join me in welcoming Mrs. Barbara Ashley. (crowd applauding)
Thank you so very much for allowing me to share my story with all of you. But before I begin, I want to thank Maria McCampbell, the Chief of Staff of the Army Spouse for having faith to let me fill in for her. I would also like to thank Manina for all the support she had given to me personally while getting this together. When Maria asked me if I would fill in for her, my initial thought was, I am not a good speaker. (crowd laughing) But I can usually tell a pretty good story, so I thought I’d try to do that for all of you today. When I began my spouse journey 34 years ago, I had no idea that I would move nearly 20 times or that my husband would stay in the military this long. (crowd laughing) I never gave much thought as to what my role would be, how this nomadic lifestyle would influence my life and my career. I wasn’t a teacher or a nurse and back in the day those were great jobs to have if you moved a lot. Although even they had license and certification issues when you cross state boundaries. I’ve worked all kinds of jobs and there’ve been challenges. My first job as a travel agent was in 1990. When I started interviewing fresh out of travel school, I hit a serious roadblock. The first company I interviewed with wanted to pay me $1200 a month and you think, okay well $900 a month for childcare. (scoffs) So when I told them it wasn’t going to be worth my time, she pretty much told me I wouldn’t get a job anywhere as a military spouse making much more than that starting out as a travel agent. So I told her, “I guess I’d stay home with my children.” Then I interviewed with two retired military officers and they were the best damn fighter pilots the Marines and the Navy ever had. (crowd laughing) They were top gun before Top Gun or so they said. (crowd laughing) But they got it. They gave a young mom in a new location wanting to support her family and add to the income. They paid me a fair wage and in return I helped build their travel agency and was a dedicated and hard worker. Countless of my friends told horror stories of interviewers asking, “how long will you be in the area?” Well, heck, if we knew that wouldn’t life be great? Most duty assignments for us have been around two years, some longer, some much shorter and every military spouse will have a different experience based on what their military member does. All kinds of things factor in: deployments, do we move close to family, do we stay where we are to stabilize the kids. There are many challenges. When we were at Fort Gordon, the schools closest to post were good, were not good, sorry. And I needed my kids in a good school district. The only options for me were: I put them in a bad school district, I could pay for a private school which was $28,000 a year for two kids, I could homeschool but being the extrovert I am that was out. (crowd laughing) And I could go to a great school in the next county if I could get a job at the middle school. So I set out and I made that a mission for me. We had one year off-post before we had to move on-post so the very first day of middle school, I said to the principal, “I need a job. I don’t care what I’m doin’ but next year I’ll have both my kids at this middle school and I want them to stay ’cause it’s the best school I’ve ever, my kids have ever been to.” And she came through for me. So, I was able to not make very much money but if you factored in an additional $28,000 that I didn’t have to pay out it was actually worth it. (crowd laughing) So over the years, I’ve sold advertisement for a newspaper, I’ve been a secretary, a travel agent, an office manager. I’ve worked in schools as a teacher assistant and in the office staff. I’ve volunteered with my kids’ sports, schools, scouts, spouses’ clubs and other community organizations as have so many of my friends and other spouses. You do what you can do as a military spouse to feel connected to the community and to yourself and family. I am encouraged by all the jobs spouses can now do remotely. In 2011 I started my own home-based travel business. The timing was right for me to start my business with more people being able to work from home. Travel is my passion and it works for me. I wish the options that you are all being presented with today would have been available for me and my friends when I was a younger spouse. Military spouses are a unique and wonderful group. We volunteer, we jump into community activities. We are planners, we are accountants, we are caretakers. We are hardworking, dedicated, and we are resilient. We offer so much to the companies across our country. We come from all ethnic backgrounds and because of this we understand diversity and different cultures. We adapt quickly to our changing communities. We may not be able to work for you for 30 years but while we are with you, we will give you our all. We are experienced and don’t need a start at the ground floor every time we PCS. You will not be sorry that you hired a military spouse. They will always contribute more than they receive. I want to personally thank the companies that are here with us today. You have signed on to hire some of America’s best employees. I feel confident that this will turn out to be one of your best business decisions ever. And I thank you for the time and I’ll be followed by MSEP partner Magellan Healthcare, Mr. Oscar Montes and Mrs. Susan Trapman. (crowd applauding)