Beyond the Yellow Ribbon

Photo By Spc. James Wilton | Spc. Edward Kam, a light wheel mechanic with the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, who just returned from a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, speaks with a Tri-Care representative about veterans health benefits at the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program held on Sept. 20 at the Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu.  

HONOLULU, HI, UNITED STATES

09.24.2009

Story by Spc. James Wilton 

117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment (Hawaii)

HONOLULU, Hawaii — The Hawaii Army National Guard's Yellow Ribbon Event on Sept. 20 at the Hawaii Convention Center was targeted for the Guard members of the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who returned home in August from a yearlong mobilization in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. However, it was open to all Hawaii National Guard members and also all branches of military reserve personnel and their families.

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program is a Department of Defense program implemented in 2008 by all National Guard organizations. The program is intended to provide a continuum of preventive, proactive Soldier and family support, and care programs that focus on ongoing health, well-being and needs of Soldiers and their families over the entire deployment cycle. The five part deployment cycle includes pre-alert, alert/pre-deployment, deployment, post-deployment and reintegration. The reintegration, or final stage, has three parts at 30, 60 and 90-day intervals.

This was the second, but by far the largest, YRRP event that was held in the state of Hawaii. With about 1,800 Soldiers in attendance, a large support staff and various vendors, it was a success, said Col. Arnold K. Iaea, the J1 and the Hawaii National Guard program director for the YRRP. That success can be accredited to the cooperation between the various units throughout the National Guard, government agencies and the community, without them this event wouldn't have gotten off the ground.

The 30 and 60-day events are focused on providing the Soldier and their family information about available benefits, services, and proactive outreach programs. Subject matter experts will brief them on veterans association benefits, services, organizations, and counseling information, TRICARE medical benefits for veterans, personal financial management, legal readiness, and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program.

"This Yellow Ribbon event is special because of the career and job fair," said Iaea. "With Hawaii's economy, the way it is, and some of the Guard members and their family members losing their jobs. It shows that the Guard and community support their veterans in this time of need. Anything that can be done will be done to support them during the reintegration and throughout their career in the Guard."

The career and college fair was organized and included about 100 employers and representatives from across the island including the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, state, federal and other governmental agencies as well as local universities, banks and veterans association representatives. These vendors distributed flyers and spoke with guardsmen about job opportunities, financial services and educational benefits available to veterans and their family members.

"The YRRP was an excellent opportunity for me to pass out information to returning Soldiers and inform them of the services and programs we provide," said Blas Silva, a veteran's outreach specialist and job counselor for the Department of Labor & Industrial Relations Honolulu Office. "It also gave me a chance to give them a 'heads up' on job availability since they will be rejoining the labor market."

A Citizen Warriors Family Covenant ceremony was conducted with all attendees just before the luncheon. The covenant was signed by the leadership of the Hawaii National Guard and representatives of the state's active duty members, elected officials, prominent community members and the Guard members' families. This covenant reaffirmed the commitment of the community and the National Guard to building a strong partnership that supports the strength, resilience of their mission and makes the community a better place to live.

"A signing of a community covenant is not normally a part of the YRRP but was added as an extra incentive of the YRRP this year," said Iaea. "It was also included in the program as a way for the community to recognize the Hawaii National Guard and its contributions to the community. The most rewarding aspect of the event was the ability to integrate the career fair and the community recognition event into the normal operations of the YRRP."

Yellow Ribbon 30-day events will also be held on the Big Island, Maui and Kauai allowing for the residents of those islands to receive information on services specific to their island. The following months will also see the 60-day events focused on continued updates for both the command and the 90-day event being a final medical screen and briefs for just the Soldier, allowing them one last check before returning to full drilling status.

"We have a sacred obligation to our Warriors who are returning from deployment to support them as they reintegrate back into our workforce and our communities," said Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, state adjutant general. "We must go beyond the return ceremonies and symbolic untying of the yellow ribbons. The event on Sunday helps us fulfill that obligation."

• Date Taken: 09.24.2009
• Date Posted: 09.24.2009 19:23
• Story ID: 39226
• Location: HONOLULU, HI, US