Celebrating Veterans and Military Families

November is National Veterans and Military Families Month, a month-long recognition of these essential members of the military community and the vital role they play in supporting a stronger force.

Improving the lives of service members and their families is a top priority of the Defense Department. The DOD will reinforce its commitment to take care of its people throughout November by highlighting free support in four areas essential to well-being: relationships, transitions, financial security and work-life balance.

“The Defense Department and Military OneSource know that mission readiness depends on a strong and resilient homefront, and we honor those who make it possible – our military families,” said Patricia Montes Barron, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Military Community and Family Policy. “They take care of those who serve, and we are committed to taking care of them and our transitioning veterans who served our country.”

The nation’s more than 2 million service members, their families and transitioning veterans have 24/7 access to a wide range of free support to help them overcome challenges and thrive. These resources are designed specifically for the military community and include child care programs and assistance, relationship support, spouse education and career help, personal financial counseling, non-medical counseling, health and wellness coaching, free personal and professional development courses through MilLife Learning, and much more. Service members, families and transitioning veterans can also take free personal and professional development courses through MilLife Learning.

Military families and transitioning veterans are encouraged to visit the 2024 National Veterans and Military Families Month landing page to connect with resources and access support.

Military OneSource is a DOD-funded program that is both a call center and a website, providing comprehensive information, resources and assistance on every aspect of military life. Service members and the families of active duty, National Guard and reserve (regardless of activation status), Coast Guard members when activated for the Navy, DOD expeditionary civilians, and survivors are eligible for Military OneSource services, which are available worldwide 24 hours a day, seven days a week, free to the user.

Military Community and Family Policy is directly responsible for establishing and overseeing quality-of-life policies and programs that help our service members, their families and survivors be well and mission-ready. Military OneSource is the gateway to programs and services that support the everyday needs of the more than 4.6 million service members and immediate family members of the military community. These DOD services can be accessed 24/7/365 around the world.