Gen. McChrystal heads back to the Obama administration

Ten months after the release of the Rolling Stone story that cost Gen. Stanley McChrystal his job as commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, the four-star general has been restored to a post in the Obama administration.

His new position as head of Joining Forces was announced via email by Michelle Obama over the weekend and will be officially unveiled by the first lady and Jill Biden on Tuesday.

Joining Forces’ mission statement, according to the New York Times, is:

to encourage companies, schools, philanthropic and religious groups and local communities to recognize the unusual stress that is endured by families of active-duty personnel, reservists and veterans, and to strive to meet their needs.

It’s not yet clear exactly what form that encouragement will take or if the program will simply be a more symbolic attempt to honor soldiers and bridge the civilian-military gap.

Both Michelle Obama and Jill Biden have been active in seeking networks of support for military families during two American wars that have both lasted nearly a decade.

McChrystal will not be commanding any troops in his new capacity as co-chair of Joining Forces, and he remains retired from the U.S. Army. Joining Forces will partner with the nonpartisan think tank the Center for a New American Security, which has published studies in the past focusing on stress among military servicemembers.