Mullen: Family Support Vital to War Effort

Kathy.Wooldridge 08-03-2010 10:33 PM

(Source: American Forces Press Service, Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill (National Guard Bureau), 3 Aug 2010) Military readiness is directly tied to family readiness, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told National Guard family program volunteers here yesterday. "This is our ninth year at war," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said. "We continue at a level that has generated extraordinary results from the best military that I have ever been associated with in some 40-plus years." Providing support to families of Guard members has been a vital component to mission success, Mullen told the volunteers. "We couldn't be anywhere close to where we are without you," he said. The National Guard has transformed since Sept. 11, 2001, Mullen said. "There's no institution where things have changed more dramatically than in the Guard," he said. "We would not be anywhere close to where we are in terms of our execution of mission without the Guard and reserve." And like other elements of the armed forces, the chairman said, the Guard has improved its family programs. "You represent the best of the best," Mullen told attendees at the 2010 National Guard Family Program Volunteer Workshop. "You represent so much of what America is, coming from every single community across the land," Mullen told the group. "Thanks for your dedication. Thanks for your service. Thanks for caring about those who are serving and who are sacrificing." Further improvement in family readiness can be achieved across the military, Mullen said, but that does not mean new programs. "We have seen our programs multiply by the dozens," he said. "I don't need any more programs. I need the ones we have to really be working well." States, territories and the District of Columbia should share best practices to improve existing programs, Mullen said. "We don't have time to have everybody developing a best practice," he explained. "Exchanging ideas ... on what's working and what isn't is absolutely critical." Community-based support can be improved, Mullen said, and the same is true of efforts to eliminate the stigma surrounding the seeking of help for treatment of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. Other important issues, he said, include homelessness among veterans, medical plans, suicide prevention and programs for wounded warriors.

"The emphasis is on disability and money," Mullen said. "The emphasis needs to be on ability and on people and on their future." Full story: Mullen: Family Support Vital to War Effort