Companies commit to boost military spouse employment policies

Driving the news: Companies including Starbucks, T-Mobile, Comcast, Johnson & Johnson and Booz Allen Hamilton signed up for the new 4+1 Commitment: The Formula for Military Spouse Success.

• The initiative was launched by the nonprofit Blue Star Families and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes.
• Other initial signatories include PenFed Credit Union, Telemynd, USAA, Nextdoor, Navy Federal Credit Union, TriWest Healthcare Alliance and First Command Financial Services.

How it works: The pledge calls for companies to commit to at least one of the following employment policies considered friendly to military spouses:

• Empower them to transfer their positions.
• Allow remote work.
• Offer flexible hours.
• Provide paid leave during Permanent Change of Station (PCS) periods.

The goal: Organizers are aiming to get 1,000 companies to make the pledge by the end of 2024.

• "It's ambitious, but together we can achieve it," First lady Jill Biden said Wednesday at an event to commemorate the first signees.

Between the lines: A quarter of military spouses provide half of their families' household income, said Alex Wagner, an Air Force assistant secretary.

• Ellyn Dunford, whose husband Joseph was the 19th chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said her income was crucial to their wellbeing in their early years together.

Worth noting: After Jill said she raised the issue directly to him, President Joe Biden in June signed an executive order designed to bolster military spouse employment in the federal government.

• Measures include increasing access to child care for military families and empowering the Small Business Administration to help military spouse entrepreneurs with relocation.

The bottom line: The health of the military is on the line because one of the main reasons people leave the armed forces is spousal career challenges, says Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet.