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Being married to the vice president has his privileges.
"Now people are taking my phone calls," Karen Pence told The Associated Press.
These days, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence is using his new stamp to appeal to military spouses, seeking to help them overcome the difficulties associated with marrying active duty members.
For example, states accept business licenses outside the state instead of spouses obtaining new licenses each time they move.
Ms. Pence sees these marital challenges as the key to military readiness. Unhappy spouses lead to unhappy service members who will eventually resign. Pence plans to address the issue in a speech Thursday in Fort Carson, Colorado, which will mark the beginning of a campaign to raise, encourage and thank military spouses.
"They are so strong and so capable, and ready to fight to become a military wife," she told the AP.
Ms. Pence's effort is reminiscent of Joining Forces, an initiative to promote military families led by former First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, the wife of the former vice president. President Joe Biden. Ms. Pence says that Joining Forces has made a lot of progress in getting military spouses to raise awareness of licensing issues, which has led to legislative changes.
But a recent study from the University of Minnesota found that although state laws may have been updated, the information provided by professional councils is sometimes insufficient. Some applications omitted questions about military status, while some websites had no information on the military spousal transfer process, according to the study.
It is there that Mrs. Pence wants to use her influence, while remaining aware of the relatively short time she has to make the difference.
"These things are time consuming, no one elected me, no one voted for me, they do not want me to write a policy, and I do not have it. intention to do so, "she said. "But what I know is that I can talk to as many spouses as I can, encourage and raise them and connect them."
Ms. Pence, who has a son in Marine's flight school and a daughter-in-law at a graduate school, said she wanted to be a voice for military spouses.
"They are such professionals, and we all want to do what we can in this short time to make a difference," she added. "Maybe it's just one thing we can do … But we want to do what we can now that we have people who, you know, will take our call."
Ms. Pence has participated in many roundtables with spouses from all branches of the US Army over the past two years since she took on her new duties, both in the United States and Canada. elsewhere in the world. She and the Vice President have lived in 14 homes during their 33 year marriage, so she gets it.
Ms. Pence also plans to highlight a separate issue Thursday: helping children in military families cope with a deployed parent. Three infantry brigades, a field hospital and a special operations unit, all located at Fort Carson, are currently deployed. A fourth brigade is expected to be delivered later this year.
It will help you hand out about 100 comfort kits for children ages 6 to 12, including an animated DVD, a guided journal, postcards and a teddy bear. She and the spouses of nearly 30 congressmen assembled 500 kits last week at the Vice President's.
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