The White Oak Retreat: Iterative Retreats as a Uniquely Effective Mechanism for Building Consensus and Coordinating Support in the Military Community 2010–2016

Abstract

Since January 2010, the America Joins Forces with Military Families “White Oak” Retreat has provided a regularly occurring venue for cross-sector, multi-organization solutions that highlight new thinking, develop networks, and update frameworks to best serve America’s military, military family, and veteran communities. This chapter provides a historical overview of the White Oak retreats and describes why it is a unique and essential process critical to successful support of service members, veterans, and their families. These retreats bring together government representatives, leading veterans’ service organizations and military family organizations, and nonprofit organizations. The White Oak process has led to strategic coordination of efforts focused on developing and coordinating critically needed programs and services to veteran and military families. The following chapter details the evolution of the military and veteran support community by examining responses and strategies developed at White Oak, exploring themes based on personal interviews, and discussing lessons learned. Recommendations focus on methods for effectively engaging public, private, and nonprofit actors, ensuring military families are understood as a central and necessary component of future force planning, and continuing efforts to bridge the civilian-military divide in local communities.