First Lady encourages Fla. military families
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE (AP) – Those outside the military cannot truly understand the stress of multiple war-zone deployments, first lady Michelle Obama told hundreds of Panhandle airmen and their families Thursday.
“A small fraction of our population is bearing a huge burden after eight years of war,” she said.
“I am in awe of every single one of you, but I’m also in awe of the ones who have your back,” she told the crowd of more than 1,000 from Eglin Air Force base and nearby Hurlburt Field Air Force Special Operations Command.
Her family has very personal connections to Eglin – from its family physician who served at the base to the air controllers from the base who keep the first family safe when traveling, she said.
“It’s pretty clear our men and women in uniform and their families have done more than their duty, it’s our turn as a nation to look out for you,” she said.
And she said it is her duty to make sure the voices of military families are heard in Washington.
Priorities include pay raises, educational support for spouses and extension of the Family and Medical Leave Act to the families of wounded airmen, soldiers and Marines, she said. Each of the ideas received thunderous applause.
She encouraged the public to reach out to their military neighbors.
“It can be something as simple as baby sitting or offering to carpool to give a stressed mom a break,” she said.
Before the speech, she met with a smaller group that included Air Force Sgt. Michael Becker and his wife, Casey. Becker has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan four times as an explosive ordnance disposal technician, leaving his wife and young children behind.
The Beckers said they were interested in what Obama had to say about helping families hit hard by the housing bust.
“We came down here when housing was high, and that happened to us,” Sgt. Becker said.
Army Ranger Jose Barreiro has deployed eight times to Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving his wife, Andrea, and their three young daughters behind.
The couple said they were encouraged to hear the first lady talk about pay raises.
Barreiro, who has chest full of medals, said he was proud to see his wife recognized.