As governors, we know our obligation to uplift their stories, elevate their service, and provide them with the support they have earned. The two of us — governors from two different political parties — agree that uplifting our military families isn’t a partisan issue, it’s a patriotic imperative. That’s why we are calling on our colleagues in other states to join us in addressing the issues our military families face every day.

Together, our two states — Maryland and Utah — represent a combined 100,000 military families.

Survey: Many U.S. military families facing employment, food insecurity challenges

Here are the facts: 70% of active-duty families live off base, where they often lack the support systems available on military installations. They move every few years — sometimes across the country, sometimes overseas. Instability disrupts their lives and livelihoods, including professional licensure transfers, childcare needs and the need to start over. This makes it harder for these patriotic Americans to truly thrive and contributes to a 23% unemployment rate for active-duty military spouses, which is more than five times the national average.

We must reject the idea that the challenges military families face are simply a part of service or too complex to be solved. Governors can and must lead. That’s why we launched innovative solutions to ease these challenges in our own states.

What Utah and Maryland have already done to help military families

In Maryland, we passed bipartisan legislation to create a pathway to free healthcare and dental care for members of the National Guard, and we delivered the largest tax cut to young veterans in a generation. We declared 2024 the Year for Military Families, passing bipartisan legislation to strengthen pathways for employment for military spouses and launching Maryland Joins Forces — priorities championed by Maryland first lady Dawn Moore. Through this initiative, Maryland is working to ensure no military-connected family experiences food insecurity.

We are helping veterans and military families live healthier lives — both physically and mentally through increased access to health and wellness resources. And we are striving to reduce veteran and military spouse unemployment, along with making it easier for spouses to transition to our state without career disruptions.

In Utah, elected officials from all parts of government are coming together to shine a spotlight on the hurdles that military families must overcome, especially related to challenges of children and young adults. Utahns are building bridges across party and ideology to find grassroots solutions that will uplift all military families, no matter their background.

We know governors cannot do this work alone. It is time for us to link arms across states and political affiliations to ensure we have the backs of our military families — not just in words, but in actions — and they need us now more than ever.

We know it has never been easier for state leaders to get involved.

Why is Gov. Spencer Cox asking Utahns to ‘Purple Up’ on April 15?

The Do Your Part initiative

The two of us are working with the National Governors Association and Blue Star Families — the nation’s largest nonprofit serving military families — co-chairing an initiative centered on military families. It’s called “Do Your Part.” And we are calling on our colleagues from across the country to join us in this work.

Do Your Part is a first-of-its-kind effort to identify and elevate best practices designed to uplift our military families. Programs at the local and state levels, such as professional license reciprocity and tax extensions, are lightening the load for families and lighting the way for national action. By becoming a Do Your Part State, states can both commit to doing more, and become part of a network of supporters dedicated to studying and sharing grassroots programs that can be adopted nationwide.

This movement isn’t about mandates — it’s about empowering governors with the best policies and practices that have already worked in other states. The Do Your Part State Toolkit, launched in February, gives governors and local communities a road map to plan and implement proven solutions to these challenges. As our movement grows, we will continue to test out and scale up initiatives across the country centered on this vital cause.

Our state economies benefit by ensuring military spouses, who are among the most highly educated and resilient groups in the country, are integrated into our workforce. We all prevail when we strengthen cybersecurity protections for military families, who are increasingly targeted by online threats. And when children can attend good schools and get a good education, they grow up to become strong leaders who give back.

Our military families sacrifice everything so their loved ones can serve. They deserve a strong, stable community, no matter where they’re stationed — both for the sake of their family’s success and the sake of our nation’s prosperity. That’s why we’re committed to making every state a Do Your Part State.

Governors and state leaders, this is our moment: Let’s all do our part.

The state of America’s military recruiting