While in Washington, D.C., to cover the Inauguration, TFK Kid Reporter Bridget Bernardo received a very special assignment: to visit the White House with three other kid reporters and talk with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden. The focus of the roundtable discussion was Joining Forces, an initiative the two women created to encourage Americans to honor and support veterans, service members and their families.

Mrs. Obama, who got to know military families during the President's 2008 campaign, said she was "overwhelmed" when she saw how the service of one person rippled through the whole family. Many Americans focus on the soldier on the front lines, she said, "but in reality, it's the whole family that has to step up and make huge sacrifices."

Dr. Biden has firsthand experience with that: Her son Beau served in Iraq in 2008. Dr. Biden said one goal of Joining Forces is to ask Americans to commit acts of kindness toward military families. She said that helped her family while her son was away. The Bidens had family members close by, "but lots of servicemen and -women don't have that type of support system," she said. To read more, visit timeforkids.com/whitehouse.

To access the digital edition of TIME For Kids, go to timeforkids.com/digital.