July 4th, 2012
06:01 AM ET
Troops to become U.S. citizens at Independence Day WH naturalization ceremony WHITE HOUSE (CNN)-More than two dozen active duty service members will celebrate their Fourth of July with a very patriotic event. Twenty-five members of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force will be sworn in as citizens in the East Room of the White House. President Obama will make remarks and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will deliver the oath of allegiance. The group of candidates for citizenship are from seventeen different countries and include a marine who has been awarded the Purple Heart and several winners of the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Other members of the president's cabinet and senior White House officials will also participate in similar ceremonies around the nation. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will participate in a ceremony in New York and SBA Administrator Karen Mills will be in Massachusetts. This is the third naturalization ceremony at the White House during the Obama administration, although none have been on Independence Day. Vice President Biden participated in a ceremony at Camp Victory with members of the military during a trip to Baghdad on July 4, 2009. 
May 28th, 2012
02:05 PM ET
Women submariners at the White HousePresident Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greeted the U.S. Navy’s first contingent of women submariners to be assigned to the Navy’s operational submarine force, in the Blue Room of the White House on Memorial Day. The 24 women were accepted into the Navy’s nuclear submarine program after completing an intensive training program and serve on ballistic and guided missile submarines throughout the Navy. Also attending were Admiral Mark Ferguson, left, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, right.  President Obama applauds members of Specialist Sabo's Company B, 3d Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division who attended Wednesday's Medal of Honor ceremony. (photo credit: Lesa Jansen, CNN)
May 16th, 2012
05:25 PM ET
Honoring a hero at the White House 43 years late President Obama presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. for "conspicuous gallantry" at a ceremony Wednesday at the White House. Sabo was killed trying to save his fellow soldiers in Cambodia in 1970 during the Vietnam War. President Obama spoke of the nation's gratitude to all of its soldiers.
Specialist Sabo's honor comes 43 years after his heroic act. (Read Specialist Sabo's story on CNN Security Clearance) 
March 11th, 2012
02:37 PM ET
White House on Afghanistan shooting Deputy NSC spokesperson Caitlin Hayden offered this written statement on the Afghanistan shooting:
The White House released a written statement from President Obama expressing his condolences to the Afghan people and his desire to fully investigate the incident.
March 11th, 2012
11:49 AM ET
White House "monitoring the situation closely."After reports that an American service member allegedly shot more than a dozen Afghan civilians in Kandahar province, Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary, said, “We are deeply concerned by the initial reports of this incident, and are monitoring the situation closely." Administration officials confirmed that President Obama had been briefed on the situation. 
March 6th, 2012
09:30 AM ET
More housing help to be unveiled at news conference WASHINGTON (CNN) –With the U.S. housing market still struggling to recover, President Obama is hoping to provide some relief for those in the military, veterans and homeowners with government insured loans. The announcement, expected to come at the president’s 1:15pm news conference Tuesday in the White House briefing room, aims to reduce fees for borrowers with FHA loans who are trying to refinance at lower rates, saving about $1000 a year. In addition, the president is expected to announce an agreement with lenders that will compensate those in the military and veterans who have been “wrongfully” charged higher interest rates and “wrongfully” foreclosed upon, according to information provided by a White House official. “This is part of the president’s overall strategy to support responsible homeowners and the housing recovery,” the statement said. 
March 2nd, 2012
03:32 PM ET
President awards purple hearts President Obama stopped by Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to visit with wounded service members on Friday. The president awarded 8 purple hearts during his visit with 27 wounded warriors – 11 Soldiers, 14 Marines, 1 Sailor and 1 NATO Forces member. 26 of the service members were injured in Afghanistan and 1 in Iraq. 
March 2nd, 2012
07:42 AM ET
POTUS' schedule Friday March 2, 2012President Obama finishes up the work week with a visit to Walter Reed National Military Center to visit wounded servicemen. Earlier in the week he honored members of the military for their service in Iraq with a formal dinner at the White House and tomorrow, he’ll be visiting with wounded soldiers, quite possibly visiting with some who were injured in recent violence in Afghanistan. Tomorrow’s visit, like nearly all before (in his administration and George W. Bush’s administration) will be closed to the press. The only other appearance on the president’s schedule is an event at the Department of the Interior about conservation. full schedule after the jump  US President Barack Obama speaks during a dinner in the East Room of the White House for members of the US armed forces who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
February 29th, 2012
09:32 PM ET
Details from the armed forces dinnerPresident Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a special dinner at the White House tonight to honor those who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn and to honor their families. President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of Defense Panetta and Jt. Chiefs Chairman Dempsey addressed the guests in the East Room of the White House. The president told those gathered just "as the war wounds last a lifetime, so does our gratitude and commitment." Over 100 service men, women, Gold Star family members and representatives from veterans groups were invited along with a guest. Many chose to bring a fellow service member. The lucky guests seated with the President:  US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk through the Cross Hall to the East Room of the White House en route a dinner for members of the US armed forces who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
February 29th, 2012
09:17 PM ET
Guess who came to dinner?Attendees at tonight's White House dinner, “A Nation’s Gratitude: Honoring those who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn”: The President and Mrs. Obama The Vice President and Dr. Biden SGT Sarah M. Adams, Killeen, TX, and Captain William Messick, Belton, TX Mr. Eric Alva, San Antonio, TX and Dustin L. Jones, Arlington, VA Chaplain (Colonel) Daniel Ames, Joint Staff Chaplain, Alexandria, VA T.H. Brooke Anderson, DAP & NSS Chief of Staff & Counselor, NSS, Washington, DC, and COL Steven Miska, Washington, DC Major General Vaughn Ary, Alexandria, VA, and Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Ary, Alexandria, VA General Lloyd J. Austin III, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, Washington, DC, and Mrs. Charlene D Austin, Washington, DC |
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