In the U.S. today, there are currently more than 21 million veterans, according to the latest Census Bureau data. That’s 21 million people who inherently know the meaning of the word sacrifice. Those who know what it’s like to put the needs of others before their own. Who work day in and day out to defend and protect the freedoms that you and I enjoy. Who at a moment’s notice, wouldn’t hesitate to lay down their lives in times of crisis.

Recognizing the sacrifices made by these brave men and women, as well as the issues they face after military service—such as finding meaningful employment opportunities, Samsung has vowed to support the veteran community by building an internal network of veterans within Samsung as well as bolster greater collaboration with veterans outside of Samsung.

On Thursday, May 5, First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, Ph.D. recognized the efforts of Samsung Electronics America (SEA) and Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS)—along with 40 other businesses and organizations—for our partnership in the Joining Forces Initiative at the 5th anniversary event at the White House in Washington, D.C.

Launched in April 2011 by First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, Joining Forces calls on all Americans to rally around service members, veterans and their families and support them through wellness, education and employment opportunities.

To double down on this message, in August 2011 the President challenged the private sector to hire 100,000 military veterans and spouses by the end of 2013. Organizations from across the country stepped up to answer that challenge, opening their doors to qualified veterans and their spouses, resulting in the veteran unemployment rate falling below that of the national average.

Since the program’s launch, more than 1.2 million veterans and military spouses have been hired or trained. With today’s announcement at the White House, this figure includes more than 110,000 new hiring commitments and nearly 60,000 new training commitments for veterans and military spouses over the next five years, primarily in the fields of aerospace, telecommunications and tech. Please click here for the full facts sheet. Video remarks from the 5th anniversary event are available here.

As with every commitment Samsung makes, our investment is ongoing and focuses on building meaningful relationships in the process. Under the umbrella of SEA’s partnership with Fisher House Foundation launched in November 2015, we will collaborate with the National Military Family Association (NMFA) to identify potential military spouses to hire. Through our New Jersey-based scholarship fund, this partnership will also allow us to more effectively assist military spouses seeking higher education degrees and course-work in STEM fields.

As an invested U.S. corporate citizen, we are proud to support the veteran community as part of our ongoing efforts to demonstrate our gratitude to American service members, veterans and their families for the sacrifices they’ve made defending the freedoms and way of life enjoyed by our employees, partners and customers.

Of the event, Pradheepa Raman, Director of Talent Acquisition for Samsung Electronics America commented: “We were thrilled to be a part of the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces 5th anniversary event.  What truly resonated was that helping these heroes who are safe-guarding our country is not just the right thing to do from the perspective of giving back, but also from the business standpoint, as we recognize that veterans are high-performing, talented individuals who have an incredible work ethic and share in Samsung’s culture and value of collaboration across teams.”