Courtesy Photo | The U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division hosted a Yellow Ribbon event Sept....... read more read more
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PHILADELPHIA - "My purpose in life is to serve others, and as an Army Reserve Ambassador, I open doors so you can walk through them," said Rev. Dr. Paul V. McCullough III, keynote speaker at the Yellow Ribbon event hosted by the U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division Sept. 12-14 here at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown.
Yellow Ribbon events span the deployment cycle - pre-deployment prep, mid-tour virtual check-ins and post-deployment reintegration - to connect families with vital resources, all backed by the program’s emphasis on family well-being.
“As an ambassador, what I’m most able to help with and influence is the Minuteman Scholarship,” McCullough explained during his presentation focusing on becoming an Army officer. “My job is to go out and tell the Army story and help young people who are interested in going to college by recommending them for a Minuteman Scholarship.”
The Minuteman Campaign is a U.S. Army Cadet Command initiative to offer Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty scholarships to candidates who self-select for service in a Reserve component. The GRFD scholarship provides full tuition and fees, or room and board, for up to four years at a public or private school that hosts an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
“With the Minuteman Scholarship, you get additional money because you are drilling with your Army Reserve unit at the same time that you are going through ROTC,” said McCullough, who retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel. “In addition, the Minuteman Scholarship is going to give you a guaranteed Army Reserve commission.”
The Minuteman Scholarship was only one of a plethora of resources offered to approximately 1,000 Soldiers and their family members in attendance who connected with a multitude of various organizations from Veterans Affairs, Military One Source, Red Cross, Retention, Family Programs, and different educational institutions and employers.
A Department of Defense-wide initiative launched in 2008 under Public Law 110-181, the Yellow Ribbon program was the Army’s way of weaving a safety net for its Reserve and Guard families — the unsung squad that holds the line of the home front while Soldiers march away.
For the 99th RD's Yellow Ribbon Team, this isn't a generic checkbox; it's a cornerstone of their mission to “provide trained and ready Soldiers to the Army Reserve.”
Part of the program initiative is coordinating easily accessible military associated speakers and resources armed with specific beneficial resources for Soldiers and their families to connect with.
“We help educate and organize supporters and build bridges that are going to provide opportunities for young people and people who really have a passion for the army,” McCullough said.
To learn more about the Minuteman Scholarship, visit https://www.usar.army.mil/MinutemanCampaign/
| Date Taken: | 09.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.15.2025 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 548180 |
| Location: | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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