Government To Help Military Families

By Rebecca Sheir

The Obama administration says it's coordinating a government-wide approach to supporting military families. Local families with loved ones deployed abroad are applauding the move.

First Lady Michelle Obama announced the initiative at a summit focusing on military-family issues.

"We see an America where every soldier, sailor, airman, marine and coast guard can deploy knowing that their family will be taken care of," she says. "So instead of worrying about benefits and bureaucracy, our troops can focus on their mission."

The review comes as the RAND Corporation releases research on how the stresses of war affect military families.

Patty Barron says she knows those stresses well. Her husband served in the Army in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, and her daughter just completed a tour in Afghanistan.

"I didn't realize how hard it was gonna be to worry about her in the way that I did," she says. "Little things, like was she getting fed well. So I walked around feeling heavy."

Mrs. Obama says the government hopes to lighten that load, by promoting programs that support military families.