First Lady Michelle Obama steered clear of an ongoing political controversy over mothers and work and instead used a stop in Jacksonville to praise military families. Mrs. Obama visited Naval Air Station Jacksonville as part of the one-year anniversary of her “joining forces” program, which aims to help veterans and their families.
She was greeted in a wide-open hangar by hundreds of high-school aged girls whose parents are in the military. During the hour-long event, television star Ellen DeGeneres appeared remotely via a big projection screen and told all of the young women that they were getting a $250 department store gift card that they can use for their upcoming proms. The first lady said it was important to recognize that the children of people in the military are also making sacrifices and must often move from school-to-school, or deal with prolonged absences of one of their parents.
“You have lived lives that make you incredibly special,” Mrs. Obama said. “…You don’t take your families for granted.”
Some of those in attendance at the event said they were surprised by the gift cards and praised Mrs. Obama. “Amazing,” said 17-year-old Frances Hartberger, who attended the event with her father, a U.S. Air Force master sergeant.
Mrs. Obama’s visit to northeast Florida comes at a time when the state retains its status as one of the big swing states that could tip the presidential election between President Obama and Romney in 2012.
Four years ago, Republican John McCain won Jacksonville and Duval County, but not by a large margin. Last year the city elected its first Democratic mayor in 20 years. Mayor Alvin Brown, as well as other area Democratic politicians such as U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, were on hand for the first lady’s visit.
Despite the presence of politicians, Mike Dooley said he was “glad” Mrs. Obama visit “wasn’t political.”
Dooley, a 20-year retired military veteran who was with his 18-year-old daughter Morgan, praised the effort to help military families. “I’m glad it was what it was,” Dooley said. “It certainly put a different light on the first family.”
After a recent White House event, Mrs. Obama and Jill Biden, the wife of the vice president, set out on a two-day anniversary tour with stops in Pennsylvania, New York, Louisiana and Florida to celebrate all things military and announce two milestones for the campaign:
• A commitment by more than 150 nursing organizations and hundreds of nursing schools to train current and future nurses on how to recognize and care for those with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. The injuries have affected 1 in 6 of the troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq‚ more than 300,000 veterans.
• The hiring of the 50,000th person under the president’s pledge last summer to promote the employment or training of 100,000 more veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013. Because military families move around so much, it can be hard for spouses to find and keep good jobs. Companies have pledged to hire 160,000 more veterans and spouses in coming years.