In honor of Military Spouses’ Appreciation Day, Team AgLearn would like to provide resources and event information to highlight the important roles military spouses play in the Federal workforce and across U.S. life.

About Military Spouse Appreciation Day

On April 17, 1984, President Ronald Reagan established Military Spouse Appreciation Day with Proclamation 5184 External Link, recognizing the countless sacrifices and contributions made by military spouses since the days of the Continental Army and Navy.

In 1999, Congress officially made Military Spouse Appreciation Day part of National Military Appreciation Month to recognize the many sacrifices military spouses make as they put their personal and professional aspirations aside for their service member.

Military spouses are recognized under President Biden’s Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce External Link, as well as First Lady Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative External Link. Research shows military spouses are a versatile workforce External Link, yet they face the highest unemployment rates in the country at 22%, and for those who are employed, a 26% wage gap is experienced when compared to their civilian counterparts. Military spouses face unique challenges related to employment, job retention and work/life balance as a result of military mission priorities of their service member, resulting in frequent moves, deployments and mission critical responsibilities that affect the military spouse/military family unit. Employee veterans and military spouses comprise roughly 10% of USDA’s workforce.

Event

Please join Secretary Vilsack and the Military Spouse Association on Friday, May 12, at 1:00 p.m. EST for the 2nd Annual USDA Military Spouse Appreciation Day event to recognize and show appreciation to our USDA military spouses, veterans, service members and military families. Our event will feature keynote speaker Sarah Streyder, 2022 AFI Military Spouse of the Year and founder of the Secure Families Initiative, as well as highlight USDA military spouses making an impact.

To participate in this event, please register at 2nd Annual USDA Military Spouse Appreciation Day Event External Link.

AgLearn Resource

Learning Path – Get Ahead as a Military Spouse External Link