Service to Military Families
One of the greatest aspects of West Virginia’s people is love of country. Our military men and women display their patriotism every day and in every mission. In recent years, West Virginia has far too often wished our men and women well, with heavy hearts, as they depart for tours of uncertainty in the name of freedom. No one knows this feeling more than the families who must wait at home.
West Virginia has the highest number of men and women serving our country per capita. With such a distinction, we have a multitude of families who patiently pray and remain strong as their loved ones go in harm’s way half a world away. These families need our support.
Through the West Virginia National Guard, the State Family Program provides a number of assistance opportunities for guard member families to receive help with housing and health care issues among many others. While the Guard has a long established tradition of providing such assistance, I encourage each and every individual West Virginian to fill in the gap.
That is why I launched the initiative "Serve West Virginia Military: Serving Those Who Serve Us." I encourage all West Virginians to participate in this wonderful program to help ensure that our military families are taken care of while their loved ones are away or any day. Giving back can be as simple as a phone call, an offer to baby-sit or sharing of a home-cooked meal. Whatever you can do to support our troops by helping their families during deployment will be much appreciated.
As time moves on, it is my hope that communities will share ideas about how to return the patriotic favor that so many of our military members have voluntarily offered to us. Please join me in bringing service to military families.
To learn more about the "Serve West Virginia Military" initiative, please visit http://www.serve.wv.gov.