July 28th Calls to Action
Military families speaking up for democracy and our shared values
We’re starting this week by celebrating some good news announced on Friday: the Trump administration released over $5 billion in education funding that had been withheld. This critical support will help schools across the country, including those serving military families, access the resources they need.
If you made a call, sent an email, or amplified last week’s call to action, thank you! This good news is proof that when communities raise our voices together, we can make a difference. Military families may be stationed around the world, but our collective voice is strong and we have to continue speaking up on critical issues like immigration, education, censorship, and healthcare.
No matter how small they may seem amid the current chaos, your actions are meaningful. So whether you have five minutes or five hours this week, add your voice to the coalition standing up for democracy and the values of our military-connected community.
Here are this week’s calls to action for military families:
Keep the pressure on Secretary Hegseth to resign or be fired for his dangerous incompetence.
Secretary Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon has been marked by chaos, internal dysfunction, and serious national security concerns. Ongoing investigations into Signalgate have raised alarms, with recent reporting indicating that his messages in the Yemen bombing group chat were derived from a classified email labeled SECRET/NOFORN. The recent pause in Ukraine aid, which caught the White House by surprise, only deepens fears that decision-making at the Pentagon is increasingly erratic.
Meanwhile, a wave of firings and resignations among senior aides has left key leadership roles vacant and discouraged qualified professionals from stepping in. Even the White House had to step in to tell the Secretary to stop polygraphing his own staff. All the while, he continues to purge women from top leadership posts.
What can you do?
Call your representatives to tell them your concerns and ask them to support Hegseth’s firing or resignation.
Sign a petition calling for his removal.
Get your merch from the Classified and Unbothered collection to show that you are a military family member who understands OpSec!
Make a plan to meet with your members of Congress in August
The House broke early for August recess, and the Senate is scheduled to follow starting on August 4.
What does this mean for military families? It’s time to show up in our districts! Find local town halls or constituent events in your area and bring other military families and friends along. Use these events to ask your members of Congress to prioritize the issues that matter to you: democracy, immigration, housing, healthcare, childcare, and cost of living.
Mark your calendars. Fire up the group chat to invite others. And make your voices heard!
What can you do?
Make a plan to attend a town hall or constituent event while your member is in town, and bring your story.
Visit your Congressional members’ websites to see if they have any events scheduled. If you don’t see one, call or email their office to ask.
If they aren’t holding an event, shame on them! But you can still ask for a meeting with the member or their staff in your local district.
Start a group chat with your milfam friends to coordinate attending together.
If you vote somewhere other than where you are stationed, you can still attend a town hall or ask for a meeting. Military families are impacted by the decisions being made about the places they are stationed. And we are also uniquely impacted by Congressional decisions about when and where the military is deployed, pay and benefits, and so much more. You can also double-dip: check to see if your members back home where you vote are holding a tele-town hall or virtual event!
Join Operation: Uncensor My Summer to push back on book bans across the military community
Second Lady Usha Vance wants you to read this summer. She’s launched a nationwide Summer Reading Challenge, encouraging families, including military families, to cozy up with books and build a love of learning.
We love books too. But there’s a problem with this challenge.
While the White House promotes reading with this challenge, military kids in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools are being denied access to books that reflect diverse perspectives, important lived experiences, and critical social issues. Titles by authors that challenge the status quo are being banned or challenged on military bases across the globe. And it’s not just on base. These bans are happening in our communities around military bases too. All of this has a negative impact on military kids, who have a right protected by their parents in uniform to explore a wide range of resources as they grow into informed citizens..
What can you do?
This summer, don’t just join a reading challenge - challenge the system with Military Families for Free Expression as they flip the White House reading challenge on its head:
📚 Step 1: Pick a book that has been banned/challenged at DODEA schools or in military communities
📝 Step 2: Submit your reading log to Second Lady Vance's reading challenge by September 5th
📖 Step 3: Share your reading logs & what banned books mean to you!
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