By Anthony Woods
Secretary, Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs
In my office in Annapolis, Md. I proudly display one of my favorite mementos – the blue star flag that my mom hung in her window during my two deployments to Iraq. I keep it in my office as a reminder of the sacrifices our military families make.
It wasn’t until I returned home from my second deployment and saw the look of fatigue in my mother’s eyes that I realized the toll my deployments had taken on her. She had no way of knowing when I was safe – or the rare moments I was in actual danger. To her, my two years in Iraq served as a constant source of stress and anxiety.
When I became secretary of veterans affairs for the state of Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore challenged me to think about how I could lean in and do more to empower military families, including veteran families, caregivers and survivors.
This challenge – to leave no military family behind – resonated deeply with me.
During discussions over the last year with members of the military-connected community, I got a better sense of the challenges they experience and the sacrifices they make while a loved one serves in uniform.
I heard from spouses whose careers took a back seat to their military service member’s; veteran caregivers providing a lifetime of support to a wounded warrior; military kids leaving friends behind and enrolling in yet another new school; Gold Star moms mustering the strength to lift up others in spite of their grief.
These sacrifices are why Governor Moore and Lt. Governor Aruna Miller launched our latest initiative, Maryland Joins Forces, which brings together government, corporate and nonprofit sectors to support military families, caregivers and survivors. The initiative has five focus areas – employment, education, food and housing insecurity, health and wellness, and service.
We’ve been calling on all sectors to do their part, and on Dec. 13, the Moore-Miller Administration made it clear that Maryland is answering the call by declaring 2024 the “Year for Military Families” to celebrate and honor military families but also to back this pledge with action.
We used that day to announce a suite of new bills we are championing with partners in the legislature. Two of these bills are being included in the Governor’s agenda for the current Maryland General Assembly, in support of promoting the administration’s efforts to make Maryland the state that serves.
The first, HB604/SB478 — the Families Serve Act — allows private-sector employers to implement preferential hiring for spouses of active duty service members; it also expands our state government’s current preferential hiring process for veterans to include military spouses. Maryland wants to recruit from this uniquely talented population to help make our government more responsive.
The second, HB580/SB477 — the Time to Serve Act — doubles military leave available to state employees who serve in the National Guard or military reserves and gives service members enhanced flexibility to use their leave for personal purposes.
These bills are among the administration’s top legislative priorities for 2024 and they’re essential to fulfilling our promise to leave no one behind in Maryland.
By declaring 2024 the Year for Military Families, we make it clear that when we say “thank you for your service,” it’s more than just a nice sentiment here in Maryland; it’s backed by action. And when we talk about service in Maryland, it doesn’t just refer to those who wear a uniform. It also includes the family members who love and support those who wear a uniform.