Trump forms new commission to address quality of life issues for military spouses

President Donald Trump signed an executive order recently establishing a

formal commission to address decades-old persistent problems facing military spouses and families. America cannot have the strongest military in the world

without the love and devotion of our remarkable military spouses who make the

extraordinary sacrifices for our country. Today I'm signing an executive order to

establish the first-ever presidential military spouse commission. Trump signed the order during a ceremony at the White House

flanked by more than a dozen military spouses, who will be part of the new commission

The president's Military Spouse Commission will make suggestions for improving quality of life

in the areas of spouse employment, housing, education, child care, health care, deployment-related support

and other areas, Trump said. He also noted the strains of separation

from loved ones deployed overseas and the frequency of permanent change of station moves

Many military spouses spend months separated from their loved ones while our heroes are deployed overseas

Military families also endure frequent moves and other unique challenges. And the challenges are legendary. They write books about them

This commission will provide recommendations for improving the quality of life for military spouses

so that we can better support both our military families and the entire United States Armed Forces

We've never had this opportunity. We doing it now because we done a lot for our military We love our military For more than a decade military spouses have struggled with unemployment rates above 20 percent in addition to various problems with housing lack of affordable

child care, and persistent issues with access to health care. The commission's duties will include

connecting with military spouses to determine common areas of concern, according to the

executive order. What I like to say is we serve by oath or by vow. We didn't all raise our right

hand to take an oath but we began serving this great nation when we extended our left hand and

and said a vow to the person that we love that serves this country and we represent people that

are at the end of their careers we have served decades 20 30 40 years of service this is about

the legacy that we leave for the people that come after us for these people who have children who

are serving now or for families that we say we love you we care about you and we are the greatest

military in the world and part of that is taking care of our families. The foundation of American

military readiness is the families and the backstopping of all of that is the military

spouses that serve behind them. Inevitably every time somebody deploys that refrigerator will break

down, the car will break down. You think we're strong. American military spouses are 10 times

stronger and the lift they carry is significant every single day. The spouses will serve without

compensation, but they may receive reimbursement for travel expenses. The group will meet each month at the White House and will provide a report on the issues

at the end of each fiscal year for as long as the commission exists

The commission will end two years from now unless the president extends it, according

to the executive order