Courtesy Photo | The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP), a program under the Department of...... read more read more
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP), a program under the Department of Defense Military-Civilian Transition Office (MCTO), released their Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Yellow Ribbon Annual Report.
YRRP is a joint-Service effort, led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, to promote the health and well-being of the Reserve Component community. The office ensures transitioning service members are able to successfully reintegrate back to their civilian life while also addressing the challenges National Guard and Reserve members and their families face as they prepare for and return from deployment or mobilization.
2020 brought changes to the policy and program office for YRRP and the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). Since YRRP and TAP missions prepare the service member, families, and communities for the return to civilian life, both programs were merged in FY 2020 under MCTO to provide policy and program oversight.
“This past year presented us with historic circumstances we neither predicted nor imagined. It presented challenges that required us to re-envision how we do business. It forced us to look at how we could continue to deliver Yellow Ribbon in a world thrust into virtual meeting spaces, teleconferences, webcams, and microphones,” said Peter Toelle, Chief, YRRP.
“It compelled us to develop and implement innovative solutions to ensure our National Guard and Reserve members and their families would continue to receive information and resources necessary for a successful deployment and reintegration,” he continued.
While much of the country was locked down owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, front-line and other essential workers kept our country delivering goods and services necessary to keep America functioning. National Guard and Reserve members embraced this challenge and mobilized to support the efforts combating a deadly and highly contagious virus amidst a rising death toll.
As of January 2021, more than 68,000 National Guard and Reserve activations have occurred as a direct response to COVID-19.
In an effort to ensure support of National Guard and Reserve members and their families, YRRP quickly responded to pandemic restrictions through the development and implementation of online tools to ensure continuity of services.
“Despite all of the challenges this past year, the National Guard and Reserve Components adapted to a “new normal” and guaranteed support of our Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Sailors while they continue to mobilize in support of a variety of missions here and abroad,” noted the report.
“I was amazed and beyond proud at the collaboration between all the Reserve Component Yellow Ribbon Program Managers as they worked together to implement and improve the DoD EventPLUS Online Event Tool. Additionally, the Reserve Components shared best practices and engaged in ongoing conversations to seamlessly transition the in-person events to a virtual platform while paying special attention to attendee impact and engagement,” said Toelle.
With the help of their partners, YRRP reviewed and improved online courseware by adjusting content and activities to virtual events, as well as incorporated DoD-approved teleconference tools into EventPLUS to allow for greater interactions among attendees.
“In a short period changed just about everything we knew about executing Yellow Ribbon events. We did it together as one team with the same mission and same goal: to provide National Guard and Reserve members and their families with the tools, information, and resources they need in order to stay ready and resilient,” said Toelle.
The expansion of a joint platform for all curriculum, synchronized outreach and communication, as well as the development of a combined strategy for evaluation and assessment, ensures the service member who is separating, retiring, or being released from Active Duty, has a successful transition.
Read the full report at: www.yellowribbon.mil/cms/policy-and-guidance/.
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2021 10:29 |
| Story ID: | 395109 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 267 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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