WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating November as Military Family Month.

Here is the text of the president's proclamation:

We owe each day of security and freedom that we enjoy to the members of our armed forces and their families. Behind our brave service men and women, there are family members and loved ones who share in their sacrifice and provide unending support.

During Military Family Month, we celebrate the exceptional contributions of our military families, and we reaffirm our commitments to these selfless individuals who exemplify the highest principles of our nation.

Across America, military families inspire us all with their courage, strength, and deep devotion to our country. They endure the challenges of multiple deployments and moves; spend holidays and life milestones apart; juggle everyday tasks while a spouse, parent, son, or daughter is in harm's way; and honor the service of their loved ones and the memory of those lost.

Just as we hold a sacred trust to the extraordinary Americans willing to lay down their lives to protect us all, we also have a national commitment to support and engage our military families. They are proud to serve our country; yet, they face unique challenges because of that service.

My administration has taken important steps to help them shoulder their sacrifice, and we are working to ensure they have the resources to care for themselves and the tools to reach their dreams. We are working to improve family resilience, enhance the educational experience of military children, and ensure military spouses have employment and advancement opportunities, despite the relocations and deployment cycles of military life. Our historic investment to build a 21st-century Department of Veterans Affairs is helping to provide our veterans with the benefits and care they have earned.

We are also standing with our servicemembers and their families as they transition back into civilian life, providing counseling as well as job training and placement. And, through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, our veterans and their families can pursue the dream of higher education.

However, government can only do so much. While only a fraction of Americans are in military families, all of us share in the responsibility of caring for our military families and veterans, and all sectors of our society are better off when we reach out and work together to support these patriots.

By offering job opportunities and workplace flexibility, businesses and companies can benefit from the unparalleled dedication and skills of a service member or military spouse.
Through coordination with local community groups, individuals and organizations can ensure our military families have the help they need and deserve when a loved one is deployed. Even the smallest actions by neighbors and friends send a large message of profound gratitude to the families who risk everything to see us safe and free.

As America asks ever more of military families, they have a right to expect more of us -- it is our national challenge and moral obligation to uphold that promise. If we hold ourselves to the same high standard of excellence our military families live by every day, we will realize the vision of an America that supports and engages these heroes now and for decades to come.

Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2010 as Military Family Month. I call on all Americans to honor military families through private actions and public service for the tremendous contributions they make in support of our service members and our nation.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

Barack Obama

(Courtesy of American Forces Press Service)    

A six-member aerial port team will be the first to represent the 446th Airlift Wing at Port Dawg Challenge, a new competition taking place at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Marietta, Ga., Oct. 25-29. 

The Port Dawg Challenge is carded to become the Air Force Reserve Command's version of a readiness competition, testing aerial porter knowledge and technical skills as they complete maneuvers like a pallet build-up or C-130 Hercules engine-running offload. The 446th AW team from the 36th APS will be one of more than 22 Reserve units taking part in this novel event.  

For more on the story, click here.

The McChord Field Chapel Support Center hosts a deployed families dinner at 6 p.m. Monday (Aug. 23).

The Chapel Support Center is located across the street from the base theater.

The Mustang West car club hosts a "Pride in Your Ride" car and bike show from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at The Play Pen, 3811 Pacific Ave. S.E., Lacey.

The club will be selling tickets as part of a 50/50 raffle, with the proceeds being donated to the Wounded Warrior Transition Battalion. For more information, e-mail olympiamustangs@comcast.net.

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFNS) -- Four airmen were killed when a C-17 Globemaster III crashed here July 28. Three were members of the Alaska Air National Guard and the other was an active duty servicemember here.
 
"Our deepest sympathy and sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of those Airmen killed in this crash. Yesterday, we lost four members of our Arctic Warrior family, and it's a loss felt across our entire joint installation," said Col. John McMullen, the 3rd Wing commander. "Right now, our immediate focus is on providing all possible support to the loved ones of our fallen aviators. We are also engaged in a deliberate investigative process." 

The names of the airmen are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

A board of officers will investigate the accident.

More information will be released as it becomes available.    

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting story about an abandon Ilyushin IL-78 Russian transport plane that's been sitting at a small airport in Michigan for nearly one year.

Read the story here.     

The Carol's Daughter beauty products counter inside the McChord Field BX is offering free makeovers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (April 17).

Spots are limited and those interested are encouraged to call (253) 582-3110 to make an appointment.

Even the Army and Air Force Exchange Service is going green these days. The new Randolph Air Force Base BX is AAFES' first exchange built to the environmental standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Read more about it here.   

McCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -

Two C-17 cargo planes from McChord Air Force Base are on their way to assist in Haiti relief efforts.

The planes left Sunday morning, one for Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and the other to Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. They'll pick up specialized teams and relief supplies to bring to Haiti, which was devastated by a magnitude-7 earthquake Tuesday.

Two other C-17s and four aircrews remain on alert at McChord for additional humanitarian relief missions.