For Immediate Release
Office of Mrs. Bush
November 7, 2002
Remarks by Mrs. Bush at 25th Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives' Luncheon
Thursday, November 7, 2002
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Rose. What a pleasure it is to be here and to see so
many friends - Joyce Rumsfeld, Deni Mineta, Mary Jo Myers and Dottie
England. And thank you, Connie Clark for being here. I am proud to be
the sponsor of the USS Texas and I look forward to the day this
impressive submarine will be launched.
I am proud to celebrate with you the Silver Anniversary of the
Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives'. Twenty-five years is a long time
to be together. But it can go by quickly if you enjoy each other. I
speak from experience, as the President and I just celebrated our 25th
wedding anniversary on Tuesday. Today, we celebrate the spirit of a
strong force in the military - an elite special support group who do
not wear uniforms, fly jets, or brandish weapons - a band of sisters
who comfort and support their loved ones, their community and each
other so that America remains the land of the free and the home of the
brave. Today, we celebrate you - our nation's military wives.
I know about having life turned upside-down because the man you
love wants to serve the country he loves. And I know you make many
sacrifices to help your spouses fulfill their dreams. Like you, the
President and I have moved a lot - five times and we have lived in six
different homes. I have to say, the White House is the best yet.
Moving, packing and hoping our children would be happy in a new home is
something I can relate to. And so is change. For most people, accepting
change is not easy. But you embrace it.
For you, change means moving and starting over, but it also means
new friends, new goals, and new mountains to climb. Your determination
to make a home for your family wherever you are, matches your husband's
devotion to duty. Wherever you go, you continue your own careers or
volunteer your time, helping to make the world a better place.
President Bush joins me in thanking you for everything you do - not
just as military wives and mothers - but as volunteers, coaches,
mentors and role models who make a remarkable difference.
I would especially like to thank Mary Fallon who is here with us
today. Her husband, Admiral William Fallon, is our country's Vice Chief
of Naval Operations. Mary volunteers in my Office of Correspondence
helping to organize the hundreds of letters we receive every day. Thank
you, Mary.
Like Mary, you are not just the wives of America's great military
leaders - but women who share their own talents and their own interests
with the world. I have gained great inspiration from your example. I am
using my love of reading to make sure that every child in America
receives an excellent education.
My Ready to Read, Ready to Learn initiative has two main goals -
first, to ensure that young children are well prepared to read and
learn when they enter their first classroom. And, second, to help
recruit the best and brightest teachers to lead our children and our
schools to excellence. Reading is the most important skill our
children learn. Practicing language and pre-reading skills with
children at an early age and reading aloud to them helps prepare them
to learn to read.
Some of my most memorable moments as a child were the times my
mother read to me. And some of my favorite memories as a mother are of
reading the Runaway Bunny and Good Night Moon to my own daughters.
As they grew bigger, their love of reading and being read to grew
as well. It is important to take time to read to and with our
children. It not only helps them to learn, but it comforts them and
lets them know that they are loved. I hope you will join me in sharing
the importance of reading to our children with the young military
mothers and fathers you meet every day. Parents are a child's first
and foremost teacher. But not their only teacher.
America's school teachers help our children learn once they enter
their first classroom. And we desperately need more of them. In the
next decade, more than two million new teachers will be needed in our
classrooms. That is why the second major goal of my initiative is to
encourage dedicated and bright Americans to bring their talent to
classrooms throughout our country - especially in inner-city and rural
schools - where teachers are most needed.
Retiring members of the military are great candidates to answer the
call to teach.
Through the Troops to Teachers program, retiring military men and
women are getting the training, certification and support they need to
move from the frontlines to the front of the class as America's newest
teachers. Many have science, math, and engineering degrees -
disciplines that our schools desperately need. And they are making a
remarkable difference in our classrooms.
At Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, I met one of Troops to
Teachers' very best - Michael Glaze, a 21-year Master Sergeant in the
Air Force. Mr. Glaze sparked his third graders interest in science by
leading them in Operation Space Station, where they transformed their
classroom into a real space station. Just like true astronauts, they
stayed in the station all night. They communicated by instant messenger
on lap top computers and they created plans of action in case a fellow
crew member became sick. By the next day, the students had two new
heroes - Neil Armstrong and Mr. Glaze.
The leadership skills military men and women hone throughout their
career translate well into teaching. Our students need leadership, they
need real world perspective, and above all, they need someone to look
up to.
The men and women of our military are great role models with a
strong sense of duty, honor and country. And today, our children need
those qualities more than ever. Our children's future success depends
on their learning to read well at an early age. And America's future
depends on our teachers. These are my priorities. And I know that they
are also your priorities as mothers, grandmothers, and Americans.
Helping our children to succeed in life can be a great challenge,
but an even greater opportunity. Today, our country faces many new
challenges - and so does our military.
Our thoughts and prayers will always be with your husbands and our
military men and women who have devoted their lives to defending ours -
and to defending freedom. Thank you for welcoming me here today, and
for continuing to embrace change as an opportunity.
I love the great writer, James Baldwin's analysis of change. I
would like to leave you with his words. He said, "For nothing is fixed,
forever and forever and forever.the earth is always shifting, the light
is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock.
Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them
because we are the only witnesses they have.the moment we cease to hold
each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out."
Your spirit is indomitable - and I know you will continue to hold
each other, your families and this country together as only an elite
band of sisters can. Thank You. And since this is a women's lunch, we
should do what women do best - talk. I know some of you have questions
you would like to ask.
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