Sgt. Jesse Houk, 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Commercial-News (Danville, Ill.)

CHAMPAIGN — Each year on May 10, the U.S. military honors those who do not wear the uniform but who stand beside their service members every day — military spouses.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day was established by Ronald Reagan in 1984 and is celebrated the Friday before Mother’s Day each year. Read more →

By Craig Gilman
Faculty Member at American Military University

Are you a military spouse that would benefit from financial assistance to get started on a career enhancing education program? If so, you should look into the military spouse scholarship known as the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account or MyCAA, also informally known as Spouse Tuition Assistance.  MyCAA, a component of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program, is a career development and employment assistance program dedicated to military spouses. Read more →

by Col. Phil McNair
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, American Public University System

If you are in the military and interested in earning a college degree, chances are good that you are short on two things that might be holding you back: cash and time.  Let’s talk about the time issue.

Few active duty folks are fortunate enough to be sent to school full time on Uncle Sam’s dime.  Realistically, your military duty obligations or job requirements, coupled in many cases with family responsibilities, may leave you little free time for college.  And no matter how you look at it, earning a degree is going to be time-consuming Read more →

Interview with Arthur Rodriguez, MGySgt, USMC (Ret)
Outreach Educational Coordinator, American Military University

Making the leap from a military to civilian career can involve some juggling, but with the right amount of support and resources it can be a smooth transition. To talk about making this leap is Art Rodriguez, a retired Marine and a Vietnam Veteran with more than 30 years of service. Read more →

Companies participating in a program to help veterans find work have hired or trained 290,000 veterans and military spouses since August 2011, nearly tripling the original goal of the program with about eight months to spare, according to the White House.

First lady Michelle Obama said Tuesday that the program called Joining Forces has generated pledges from businesses to hire or train another 435,000 in the next five years. Read more →

The White House announced a significant new effort Tuesday to reduce unemployment and improve job prospects among veterans, enlisting the support of U.S. companies to hire 435,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years.

Retail giant Wal-Mart, the Blackstone private-equity firm and shipper UPS are among the major American brands that are committing to hiring hundreds of thousands of veterans and spouses, officials said. Wal-Mart previously announced that it would find a job for any veteran discharged honorably in the year he or she leaves the service. Read more →