Commitments

February:

Today, 22 percent of CACI’s more than14,000 employees are veterans. The company has a proud, 50-year history of supporting all our military services and is committed to increase veteran hiring through the recently launched “Hire a Vet Today” campaign. CACI also commits to continue to expand their award winning “Deploying Talent – Creating Careers” initiative which champions the hiring of disabled veterans -- CACI hired over 200 disabled veterans in 2011 and the company now has more 600 disabled veteran employees.  

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is a proud employer of  U.S. military veterans, committing to hire up to 500 veterans by the end of 2012. The company is searching for both corporate and field employees to support the company’s exploration and production, drilling, trucking, and oilfield services. To help achieve this goal, Chesapeake Energy has formed a five-person Military Relations Team to recruit at military bases and job fairs, and build partnerships with military organizations that have a pipeline of veterans looking to transition into civilian work life at Chesapeake.

Corporate America Supports You (CASY) and the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) were chartered in 2004 as private sector non-profit organizations that provide no-cost employment readiness, training, and employment placement for National Guard, Reserves, transitioning service members, veterans, military spouses, and caregivers of war wounded.  CASY-MSCCN and its 10 Alliance partners commit to the successful placement of a minimum of 300 military-affiliated job seekers during the twelve-month period from March 1, 2012 until March 1, 2013.

DynCorp International LLC is pledging to work to hire 4,000 veterans in 2012. As part of the commitment, DynCorps has launched a comprehensive Military and Veteran Outreach program consisting of:

• Working with Base transition Offices to present at employer panels as well as provide career opportunities for members who have declared their intent to separate or retire from service
• Partnering with commercial organizations specializing in providing career assistance to Veterans 
• Increasing our presence at career fairs, both at Military Installations and in the private sector
• Allocating additional funds to advertise career opportunities to Veterans

Northrop Grumman currently employs more than 13,000 Veterans (approximately 18 percent of the total workforce) and is committed to increasing its outreach to Veterans and their families in 2012 and beyond. Launched in 2005, Operation IMPACT, Northrop Grumman’s career transition assistance program for Wounded Warriors, continues to provide employment opportunities and training for hundreds of severely injured Veterans annually. In 2012, the company will increase its resources and investments to strengthen and expand Veteran outreach and recruitment. Northrop Grumman is also a proud partner of the Military Spouse Employment Program (MSEP) and is committed to providing training and employment opportunities for the military spouse community.

JPMorgan Chase and 28 other companies are committed to hiring 100,000 transitioning servicemembers and veterans by 2020 through their "100,000 Jobs Mission." These organizations are also hiring military spouses.

Nearly 8 percent of Rockwell Collins’ domestic workforce is made up of yesterday’s warriors. A Military and Veterans Employee Resource Group helps these veterans succeed in a civilian environment through mentoring, career planning, networking and professional and personal support. The company is deeply committed to helping even more veterans find work, actively collaborating with program partners including the Student Veterans of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  And the company’s own pledge to hiring veterans is unflagging: It plans to increase the proportion of veterans who are hired in the future to at least 10 percent of all the newly hired employees by the end of 2013, assuming current business trends continue as projected.

Sodexo, Inc. pledges to maintain its leadership position as a top employer for veterans, military service members and spouses. Sodexo will dedicate resources to maximize hiring efforts for veterans, provide tools for veteran employees to engage in networking and mentoring once on board, and offer job transfer and flexible work options beneficial to military family members. Along with its pledge to Joining Forces, Sodexo will continue to foster the education and well-being of military families through its support of programs like the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Marine Corps Community Services Youth Sports Association, and the Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run and Healthy School Award program.

Waste Management, Inc. is North America’s leading provider of integrated environmental solutions and employs 3,500 veterans. For the past four years, the company has averaged hiring at least one veteran every day. Waste Management, Inc. is committed to hiring 750 veterans and their spouses in the period August 2011 to August 2013.

Werner Enterprises Inc. is a premier global transportation and logistics company where veterans account for over 20 percent of the workforce.  For new professional truck drivers, Werner Enterprises Inc. offers a Department of Labor approved Apprenticeship Program, which allows eligible veterans to earn their GI Bill benefits for one year, in addition to their normal pay.  Werner Enterprises Inc. continues to support our military by pledging to hire 775 military veterans by the end of 2012.  

January:

Schneider National, one of America’s largest trucking companies, is committed to hiring 1,300 current and former military personnel by the end of 2013. Opportunities exist across the U.S. for professional drivers, diesel mechanics and office associates. Schneider has been committed to veteran hiring for more than 75 years and is also committed to maximize VA benefits and provide tuition reimbursement for professional truck driver training. In addition, Schneider offers a Military Apprenticeship program which provides on-the-job training and a monthly stipend during the first year of employment.

As a result of President Abraham Lincoln’s vision for a transcontinental railroad, Union Pacific began building nearly 150 years ago with significant contributions of Civil War Veterans, and still proudly employs roughly 10,000 veterans today. Union Pacific plans to continue to hire veterans at a rate of 25% of all hires. During 2012, Union Pacific anticipates hiring over 1,000 veterans, which is roughly one veteran hired every 8 hours.

December:

American Corporate Partners (ACP) offers yearlong one-on-one career guidance mentorships for service members transitioning into the private sector.  In addition, ACP has created ACP AdvisorNet, an online "quick question community" to answer service members and veterans' questions regarding employment, career development, and small business.  Service members and veterans can log on from anywhere in the world to have their questions answered by some of America's most experienced and knowledgeable corporate professionals.  ACP AdvisorNet allows service members to get started on planning their transition and post-transition goals prior to leaving the military -- even while stationed overseas -- and is completely free to use. 

Orion International is the nation’s largest Military Talent Management firm, and has found careers for more than 25,000 Veterans since 1991. Orion employs a 63% Veteran workforce, and pledges to find private sector employment for 2,000 Veterans in 2012. Orion will expand its Career Assistance Services to reach the Veteran categories most affected by unemployment, as well as Military Spouses. Orion will also provide consultative training programs to educate companies on creating and implementing a Military Recruiting Strategy, increasing the ability of these companies to hire and retain Veterans.

November:

The International Franchising Association (IFA) and its 1,100 affiliate companies are committing to hiring 80,000 veterans and military spouses by 2014. This commitment also includes the desire to employ 5,000 Wounded Warriors.

As Miami-Dade County's official economic development partnership, the Beacon Council is charged with the mission of retaining and expanding Miami-Dade County’s employment base. The Beacon Council and their 274 member companies are committed to energizing and collaborating with the South Florida business community to collectively strive to hire 4,000 veterans by the end of 2013.

G4S Secure Solutions (USA), a company who presently has a workforce comprised of 21 percent veterans, is looking to expand veteran employment and is committed to hiring 3,000 veterans by the end of 2013.  

Ryder System, Inc., with a current U.S. workforce comprised of nearly 10 percent Veterans, expects to hire more than 550 Veterans constituting 13 percent of new hires in 2011.  With the benefit of new alliances focused on hiring Veterans and assuming continuation of current business trends, Ryder commits to hiring at least 1,000 additional veterans by the end of 2013.  

Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc (ABC), in partnership with national military charity USA Cares, will provide 1,000 jobs to Veterans in 2012 as the initial phase of their Job for Vets Program. ABC will utilize multiple training programs including an Apprenticeship Boot Camp that will reduce time to certification by one year. The program will train and hire veterans in a skilled trade and guarantee employment for a minimum of twelve months.  ABC Chapters will work with the State Authorizing Agencies to ensure that the veteran can obtain funding through the New G.I. Bill. The first pilot is starting in Illinois in January. ABC and USA Cares intends to replicate the program nationwide throughout 2012. 

U.S. Bank is committed to hiring at least 1,000 veterans by the end of 2013.  To help achieve this goal, U.S. Bank is introducing a military recruiting website, to connect veterans with career opportunities at U.S. Bank.  In addition, U.S. Bank is piloting a Leadership Development Program in two of its consumer banking markets to recruit transitioning veterans into branch management training programs and expects to expand the program into other markets and business lines in 2012.  In recognition of the many sacrifices that military families make, U.S. Bank will also offer eligible employees two weeks of paid leave to cover time they would otherwise take off per existing federal or state law in connection with a loved one's military service. 

Google launched “Google for Veterans and Families,” on Veterans Day 11.11.11 as a single interface that brings together Google products and platforms for service members and their families. It was created by veterans, and family and friends of veterans, who work at Google. This collection of tools was built for the entire community, whether veterans and their families who are still in the service, transitioning out, or on a new path in their civilian lives. The site includes new tools like “VetConnect” and the “Google Veterans Channel on YouTube,” which allow service members to connect, communicate and share their experiences with each other and those who have not served. Google also recently launched "Chrome for Wounded, Ill and Injured Warriors" with the American Red Cross at five polytrauma hospitals; this pilot will help these hospitalized servicemembers stay in touch with their loved ones during recovery. Finally, Google recently helped to launch The Veterans Job Bank, a jobsearch engine in the National Resource Directory (NRD), which is powered by Google Custom Search technology that crawls the web to identify veteran-committed job openings. 

The National Military Family Association announces MiMapp, a simple online application that delivers topic specific information from nearly 800 military related websites and resources to military families when they need it. Developed in partnership with Appcelerator and with the guidance of ConvergeUS and members of the Association’s Technology Advisory Council, the application harnesses the technical power of the IT industry with the expertise of the leading authority on military family issues. The first module of the application will connect military spouses with resources providing short- and long-term employment guidance. The tool can also help the more than 350,000 working military spouses keep their career intact when they move. MiMapp will be piloted in the Spring of 2012. 

Siemens surpassed their initial commitment to hire 300 veterans and actually hired 450 veterans in less than six months.  Having exceeded that as well, Siemens has doubled their original commitment and will hire more than 600 veterans by the end of 2011.  

BAE Systems, Inc., a company presently employing more than 3,000 veterans at more than 200 facilities across the United States, is committed to employing wounded warriors and veterans through the company’s Warrior Integration Services. BAE Systems’ strategic partnerships with government, military, and nonprofit entities help ease the transition from military life to the civilian workforce, ensuring veterans feel confident in their roles. These programs are just one element of BAE Systems’ overall commitment to supporting service members, veterans and their families. 

The Boeing Company expects to hire more than 1,000 veterans in 2011. As part of these efforts, Boeing has become a member of American Corporate Partners, a nationwide mentoring program dedicated to helping veterans transition from the armed services to the civilian workforce. Through mentoring, career counseling and networking, transitioning veterans will interact with senior Boeing professionals to understand and develop career paths and build professional networks. Boeing will also launch an on-line military skills translator tool that will connect military skills and Military Occupation Specialty codes to relevant Boeing job openings. 

EADS North America is expanding its veteran recruitment program by creating a dedicated online employment portal to increase EADS North America outreach to current and former service members.  EADS North America recruitment efforts already have resulted in over 50% veteran employment at its U.S. Army Light Utility Helicopter production center located in Columbus, Mississippi.  In addition, EADS North America has committed over $500,000 to a number of veterans and family support endeavors. 

Prudential commits to sharing best practices for veteran employment with the business community and sponsoring independent research of veteran employment challenges, such as the efforts undertaken by both the White House's Joining Forces Initiative and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring our Heroes program. In addition, Prudential has thus far committed $2.7 million to VETalent, an innovative program that prepares transitioning veterans for new careers and employment run by Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS), a nonprofit 501©(3) organization. Prudential also commits to expanding its support through an enhanced Grants Program which includes support to select nonprofit organizations that address  veteran employment related needs, as well as the needs of family members who support them. 

Raytheon, a company that presently has a workforce comprised of more than 17 percent veterans,has committed a five-year, $2.5 million grant to support the Wounded Warrior Project’s (WWP) Economic Empowerment Programs to expand WWP's Transition Training Academies, educate more wounded warriors and caregivers, engage employees in volunteerism and fundraising and empower wounded warriors to compete for 21st Century technology jobs.  All initiatives are aimed at providing returning injured service members with the tools needed to successfully transition to new careers.  The company also supports veteran training and hiring with its Operation Phoenix: Warrior Transition Program, a special program to attract, hire and retain military veterans, as well as provide resume, interviewing and career fair support to veterans transitioning into the private sector. 

SRA International, a company who presently has a workforce comprised of 20 percent veterans, is committed to continued hiring of veterans and wounded warriors. SRA has created a special wounded warrior recruiting program and hired a dedicated Program Management Officer (himself an experienced recruiter and wounded warrior) to partner with government agencies and non-profit organizations that support the wounded warrior community to target and recruit for SRA.  

The Walmart Foundation has committed to a two-year $750,000 grant to Veterans Green Jobs. The funding will support three key programs that focus on job training, recruitment and placement with the goal of the programs becoming self-sufficient by the end of the two-year grant. With this funding, Veterans Green Jobs will connect with 1,000 veterans and place many of those veterans into full-time green sector jobs. The grant is the latest commitment under the Walmart Foundation’s recently announced five-year, $20 million giving initiative aimed at combating the high veteran unemployment rate. Since 2009, Walmart has donated more than $1 million to Veterans Green Jobs, resulting in training and jobs for more than 350 veterans. 

Occidental Petroleum Corporation will continue to employ veterans across all levels of the organization.  In 2011, approximately 10% of Oxy’s external hires for U.S. positions were veterans.  In addition, as part of Oxy’s partnership with American Corporate Partners (ACP), 58 Oxy employees currently serve as mentors in ACP’s nationwide veteran mentoring program to help veterans make the transition to business life. Mentors are paired with recently returned veterans and meet with them monthly for a year for career counseling and development. 

Inventis Group Ltd. and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announce the launch of a pilot program entitled the "Veterans Entrepreneurship & Technology Incubator" or VET INC. The program brings together game changing technologies, the talent pool of highly skilled veterans and the venture capital community to establish high-tech start-up companies. The technologies involved will reflect the diversity of the research and development conducted at AFRL. Talent will be supported by organizations such as the American Legion War Memorial Commission (ALWMC) in San Francisco. The VET INC goal is to enable and empower veterans to not only build businesses, but to also create jobs for other veterans. 

U.S. Manufacturing Pipeline (USMP), created by Futures, Inc. in partnership with The Manufacturing Institute and ACT, is a comprehensive, on-line talent exchange where military personnel who are transitioning back from overseas service and into the civilian workforce are matched with manufacturers seeking skilled labor to fill open positions.  During a pilot at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, over 650 individuals voluntarily signed up to create digital portfolios on USMP while 176 of those people chose to pursue a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) through Fayetteville Technical Community College near Fort Bragg. Future partnerships will be conducted with National Guard units in Minnesota and active duty units at Fort Sill and Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. 

The Student Veterans of America and MentorNet are combining the power and reach of their two programs to help student veterans studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) at the postsecondary level on campuses across the U.S. to graduate and enter the workforce. Their joint effort will create a large-scale Web-based mentoring program that can match thousands of students to working professionals in STEM fields, guiding the mentors to help student vets overcome hurdles and prepare for realities and opportunities in the workforce. 

The Administration has engaged a number of public and private sector resources to help employers “tag” job listings to help ensure veterans will be able to identify these “veteran committed” jobs as they look for employment. Such commitments include: 

• Simply Hired has adopted the job posting schema and has tagged over 500,000 jobs from veteran-committed employers discoverable on the Veterans Job Bank. In addition, Simply Hired will educate veteran-committed companies on getting their jobs posted and visible to veterans nationally.
• LinkedIn is committed to adopting the job posting schema and developing an easy to use tagging method to help facilitate the identification of veteran hiring commitments posted on their web site. Additionally, LinkedIn is developing innovative applications to support veteran employment and developing a microsite to help veterans find jobs. 
• Google helped design the job posting schema and is supporting the Veterans Job Bank through its custom search engine.
• Monster and Military.com are committed to adopting the job posting schema and developing an easy to use tagging method to help facilitate the identification of veteran hiring commitments posted on their web site.
• Taleo is committed to adopting the job posting schema and providing a Quick Start guide to its more than 5,000 member customers to facilitate tagging of veteran commitment positions. Posted jobs appear on the customer’s websites, Taleo’s candidate market place, and other social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook. 
• Indeed is committed to adopting the job posting schema. Additionally, Indeed has included military history on resumes to help support employer identification of veteran candidates. Finally, on 11/11 Indeed launched Indeed Military job search, allowing veterans to search jobs using their MOC codes by utilizing the O*Net crosswalk database to help translate military experience into civilian terms.
• BranchOut is committed to adopting the job posting schema through a feature that allows companies to state a preference for hiring veterans when they post jobs on BranchOut. These special job posts are highlighted for veteran job seekers so they know which companies are looking for their unique skills. BranchOut will also offer jobs posts to veterans who have recently started their own businesses.
• DataDoctors has adopted the job posting schema into its job postings that are now available in the Veterans Job Bank.
• TweetMyJobs is developing a check box that allows employers posting jobs to indicate if the job is specifically targeted to veterans.  TweetMyJobs will distribute these jobs for free for the next 12 months. TweetMyJobs is also launching a suite of tools for veterans to find jobs on Twitter, including establishing veteran-specific job channels on Twitter for every state and major metropolitan area, a special landing page for veterans to find and follow these job channels, custom notification alerts for veteran committed jobs and a channel for veterans to distribute their resume on Twitter.
• Corp-Corp will be implementing the "Veteran Commitment" option for employer job posting. They will make the "Veterans Committed" jobs easily findable in search engines using recommended schema.org guidelines. We will also implement the "Blue Button" for veterans to post resumes at Corp-Corp.com quickly and enable them to reach the right employers.
• Doximity will enable returning veteran medical personnel (including MDs,NPs, RNs, EMTs) to incorporate the Veterans Job Bank markup to make job searches easier. By connecting returning veteran medical professionals with the larger US medical community, Doximity provides access to former medical school classmates and co-residents, and allows veterans to securely discuss difficult patient cases.

The Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) and its nearly 100 partner companies and organizations are committed to hiring 20,000 military spouses by 2014.

October:

The American Logistics Association (ALA) and their 270 affiliate companies led by Tyson Foods and EURPAC have committed to hiring 25,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013.

Sears Holdings, which presently employs more than 30,000 veterans and military spouses, is committed to increasing their 2011/2012 veteran/military spouse hiring by 10 percent.

August:

Microsoft will offer 10,000 technology training and certification packages to U.S. military veterans over a two year period, through a partnership with the Department of Labor. The technology training and certification will be available at intermediate and advanced levels and will be delivered through e-learning, with additional in person support. This partnership is an extension of the overall Microsoft Elevate America veteran's initiative, which demonstrates a total investment of $12 million cash, product and related support for U.S. veterans.

Siemens pledged to fill 10 percent of their 3,000 open positions with veterans earlier this year. Having exceeded that goal, Siemens has increased their commitment by an additional 50 percent. More than 450 veterans will have a new job at Siemens by the end of the year.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce will create a private sector National Veterans Employment Advisory Council (VEAC), which will be comprised of 25 of America's biggest employers, representing every major industry and sector, to promote veteran hiring, reporting measures, and mentorship. They will also call on their federation of 2,500 state and local chambers and industry associations and more than 3 million businesses to significantly expand the scale and scope of their nationwide hiring campaign to several hundred additional cities in 2012 and beyond.

Honeywell is expanding its ongoing recruitment efforts to include a target job placement goal of at least 500 veterans in 2011 across the company's four businesses.

Humana will provide $1 million to support the continued expansion of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program. The EBV is a novel and 'one-of-a-kind' initiative designed to train veterans to create and sustain a new business. The EBV training is provided across eight universities without any cost to the veteran, and more than 500 veterans with disabilities will have completed the program from since 2007. Humana's support will allow for the continued expansion of the program to additional universities across the U.S. while expanding opportunities for military family members to receive the EBV training. Humana also is announcing today a new "Veterans Initiative" whereby the company will expand its efforts to recruit and hire military veterans and their spouses in a variety of roles at the health care company.4

JP Morgan Chase has developed and is executing a holistic veteran's strategy. Two key elements include a commitment of $7.5 million to provide seed funding for the creation and launch of a "first-of-its-kind" Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University as well as the 100,000 Jobs Mission. The 100,000 Jobs Mission was launched in March with the goal of hiring 100,000 transitioning service members and military veterans by 2020. 11 corporations have joined this mission and collectively hired more than 1,300 transitioning service members and veterans through June 30th.

Futures, Inc. has committed to launch a pilot web-based platform, US Veterans Pipeline, to help veterans connect with career exploration resources, mentors, education, and direct employment opportunities. This collaboration represents a cross section of Fortune 500 companies, education leaders, entrepreneurs, and veteran service organizations.

AT&T is launching two new online resources: a custom military skills translator, which will enable servicemen and women to use their current Military Occupation Code or Military Occupation Specialty to find corresponding civilian career opportunities at AT&T, and the Careers4Vets program which connects interested veterans with mentors within AT&T. These new platforms will support AT&T's ongoing veteran initiatives, including supplier diversity initiatives like Operation Hand Salute, a mentoring program that is designed to help disabled veteran businesses develop the tools and expertise to win large corporate contracts.

Accenture's Skills to Succeed program will equip 250,000 people, including veterans, around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. As part of their efforts, Accenture is one of several companies underwriting NPower's Technology Services Corp and will work with the non-profit to expand IT training, professional skills and mentoring, internships, and job placement for service members and veterans.

Code for America is creating the Veterans Employment Platform, which will offer an online military skills translator for employers across the country. Working with private sector partners such as Direct Employers and Futures Inc, and Federal agencies including Defense, Labor, Veterans Affairs, the Office of Personnel Management, the platform will become an essential resource for both veterans and employers.

SCORE will provide an array of free and discounted offers to help veterans and their family members with their business needs. These offers span from discounted incorporation services to free software and free assistance by certified accountants. They also will offer scholarships for their "Simple Steps for Starting Your Business" workshop series or an equivalent workshop available through any of their 350 chapters nationwide.

Walmart has previously committed $1 million to support the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans program developed at Syracuse University and involving business schools across the United States. Building on this commitment, Walmart is now providing a $180,000 grant to V-WISE, which offers training and mentoring in business de Walmart will also contribute $100,000 to support the US Chamber's work in hosting more than 100 job fairs for veterans in cities and towns and Walmart has also agreed to be the founding member of the US Chamber National Veterans Advisory Council, which will pull together 25 corporate members committed to hiring veterans and creating best practices for veterans employment.

Lockheed Martin is expanding its targeted series of Wounded Warrior-focused hiring events, where veterans with disabilities are invited for face-to-face interviews with hiring managers. Additionally, veterans can connect with Lockheed Martin recruiters through new, monthly Wounded Warrior employment virtual chat room sessions.5

Hewlett Packard is expanding on its original $50,000 commitment to the American Corporate Partners (ACP), a nationwide mentoring program dedicated to helping veterans transition from the armed services to the civilian workforce through mentoring, career counseling, and networking during a yearlong mentorship. As a participating institution, HP has helped recruit executives, employees and retirees to be mentors in this program and is now expanding its mentoring program to California.

April:

The Administration has made military families a priority across the federal government, but Joining Forces recognizes that this can't be the work of government alone. Joining Forces has reached out broadly to include commitments and efforts from outside government across many different sectors. As an initial step, the White House convened and worked with leading employers, non-profits and media companies to kick off Joining Forces with meaningful commitments to address military families' unique needs in employment, education, wellness and public awareness. Some examples are below:

Sears Holdings offers continued employment to service members  and families with launch of the Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Promise. The “PCS Promise” was created to support Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden's Joining Forces initiative, which raises awareness around the challenges that military personnel and their spouses endure when moving from one community to another.  In many cases, military spouses move from one community to another when their spouses are reassigned. On top of the stress of uprooting children and relocating to a new community, military spouses are often faced with the difficulty of continuing their careers or finding a new job in their new location. With the PCS Promise, Sears Holdings will do everything in its power to give military spouses who are employed by the retailer a job at a Sears, Kmart or Lands' End store convenient to their new location.

Education: The National Math and Science Initiative, Discovery Education, National PTA, the Military Child Education Coalition, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Reach Out and Read, Best Buy's Geek Squad, McGraw Hill, the Better Business Bureau's Military Line, and Intel have all committed to major initiatives to support academic achievement of military children, and to expand education and training opportunities for veterans and military spouses.

Wellness: Joining Forces has engaged associations and organizations representing primary care and mental health specialists across military and civilian health services to promote collaboration, sharing of best practices and expansion of exemplary models of care to reach all military families. WebMD, the American Heart Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, YMCA, National Military Family Association, Sierra Club, and the U.S. Tennis Association have all committed to expand access to wellness programs and resources for military families.

Public Awareness: Commitments also include activities to ensure that Americans are informed about the unique challenges and needs of military families and their strength, resilience and service. Joining Forces is working with Sesame Street, NASCAR, A&E Television Networks, AOL, USO, Viacom's Nickelodeon and Country Music Channel, Disney ABC, Pixar, Major League Baseball, and the four major entertainment guilds on ongoing public awareness campaigns about military families. And Blue Star Families, the Red Cross, and ServiceNation: Mission Serve have developed an initiative enabling people to honor military families by making pledges of service.

In response to the White House's call to action, one of the nation's leading nonpartisan institutions focused on national security, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), has announced it will be coordinating commitments already made and mobilizing ongoing support for the initiative. The effort at CNAS will be led by a board of distinguished Americans with a life of experience in the armed forces, military families and the private sector. The two initial members of board will be General Stanley McChrystal (Ret.), and Patty Shinseki.