Washington First lady boosts on-base jobs for service spouses

By Mark S. Smith Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Opening another front in her nearly year-old campaign to support service families, first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday unveiled a new push for jobs on or near military bases. She also announced plans to mark the Joining Forces campaign's first anniversary with a two-day, four-state swing next week that will include stops in election battleground states Pennsylvania and Florida and a chat with comedian Stephen Colbert on his show "The Colbert Report." The Joining Forces organization said it has lined up commitments for more than 15,000 jobs in the coming years. Most will come from telemarketing and customer support companies and will enable the spouses and veterans to work from home. Mrs. Obama noted these jobs are especially helpful to military families because they move so often across state lines -- about 10 times more often than the typical U.S. family. Next week, after a White House celebration, she and Jill Biden, the vice president's wife and her partner in Joining Forces, will make stops at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to meet with nursing industry leaders; New York for Mrs. Obama's Colbert taping; Shreveport, La., to mark the 50,000th veteran or service spouse hired under the campaign; and the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, Fla. So far, Mrs. Obama told reporters, the jobs component of Joining Forces has exceeded expectations. Published: Thu, Apr 5, 2012