WEBVTT

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Hello, I'm Lloyd Austin, the

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Secretary of Defense. I served in the

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US Army for 41 years. And so I know

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firsthand how much we ask of our troops,

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our veterans and their families.

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Our military families hold down the home

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front and they feel all the pride and

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all the stress of a life of service.

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Behind every brave service member and

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every proud veteran stands a parent, a

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spouse, a child or a loved one.

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And they also serve our country at the

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Department of Defense. We work every

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day to give America's military families

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the support and resources that they

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deserve. But each November we pause

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to say a special thank you. As we

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celebrate National Veterans and

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Military Families Appreciation Month,

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we know that serving in uniform carries

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some special burdens. So when I became

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Secretary of Defense I made taking

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care of our people one of my top

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priorities and we've taken real steps

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to ease the load for our military

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families. We've given major pay raises,

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we've made housing and childcare and

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groceries more affordable and we've

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taken some of the headaches out of

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moving and we're doing far more to help

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military spouses find and keep good

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jobs. And our commitment doesn't end

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when a service member retires. We're

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working shoulder to shoulder with our

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teammates at the Department of Veterans

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Affairs to help our military families

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make smooth and successful transitions

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to civilian life. So to all our

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military family members and all of our

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veterans, thanks for your strength and

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thanks for all that you've done for

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America. Happy National Veterans and

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Military Families Appreciation Month

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everyone.