Yellow Ribbon Program: Vital Link for National Guard and Reserve

DCoE in Action Vol 3, No 7      July 2010

Making the change from civilian to war fighter and back is exciting and at times stressful. More than 770,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have made that transition since September 11, 2001. Most National Guard and Reserve service members and their families don’t live near military installations and don’t have direct access to the information, resources and benefits available to fami­lies throughout the deployment cycle. The Department of Defense (DoD) Yellow Ribbon Program provides that vital link for our Guard and Reserve members.

When Army Reserve Lt. Col. Ed Beck first heard about Yellow Ribbon, it was after his third deployment. He and his wife, Linda, decided to take advantage of the program and travelled to St. Louis to a weekend-long post-deployment Yellow Ribbon Event with almost 1,000 soldiers and families from the 88th Re­gional Support Command.  

“I wish we had had [Yellow Ribbon] after my first two deployments,” said Beck. “Just getting plugged into all those ser­vice providers out there—I’ve been in the military 28 years and I didn’t know all the things we were eligible for.”

Yellow Ribbon events now include all National Guard and Reserve components before, during and after deployments. Most events last one to two days and give service members the opportunity to reunite with fellow unit members. They also offer family members a chance to meet. At most events, service members and their families take advantage of workshop-style sessions on issues such as financial planning, marriage and family, combat stress, and health care benefits.

Guardsmen and reservists who have deployed can find out more about Yellow Ribbon events by contacting their chain of command, or by visiting www.yellowribbon.mil/events.html.

For more information, visit www.yellowribbon.mil  

The Yellow Ribbon Program contributed to this article.