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Deployers, families learn communication, deployment skills at Yellow Ribbon event

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott P. Farley
  • 310th Space Wing Public Affairs
PHOENIX --  Air Force Reserve members and their families tackled communication strategies and a myriad of deployment issues during the western regional Yellow Ribbon event held at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak here, April 15-17.

Eighty-one Reservists from 15 bases nationwide who are either preparing to deploy or returning from a deployment attended the event which focused on preparing themselves and their 126 attending family members for the day-to-day challenges experienced throughout the cycle of the deployment process.

These challenges not only face the returning and pre-deployers, but their family and friends who are the foundation of support during the whole process.

"In today's economy, to be able to give back to these people for the sacrifices they've made it huge," said Lazette Bretthorst, the resource advisor for the Yellow Ribbon program. "Allowing them to spend time as a family, even if it is just for 72 hours, brings down their stress levels and give them special moments, especially for pre-deployers."

Maj. Gen. Kelly McKeague, the assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard Matters, kicked off the event speaking about the many hurdles facing Guardsmen and Reservists and the value of the breadth of experience and skills these men and women bring to the military, which he pointed out has become one of the most respected professions in the United States.

General McKeague, who has attended Yellow Ribbon events for the Navy Reserve, Air National Guard, Army Guard, as well as his first Air Force Reserve event in Phoenix, also fielded questions from the audience about many of the problems facing deploying Reservists and Guardsmen.

General McKeague said he welcomes this type of open forum because attending Yellow Ribbon events brings him a lot of insight in recognizing the needs of the Reserve component warriors.

"In order for us to do our job, we need to know what is happening where the rubber meets the road," said General McKeague. "The only way to do that is to come out into the field and to interact with citizen warriors and their families and to hear firsthand the challenges they're facing. We need to hear what's working and what's not, to help us go back and shape our engagements with Adm. (Michael) Mullen, the secretary of defense, and the Reserve component chiefs."

The Yellow Ribbon program is part of that shaping process and evolution to ease the difficulty for Reservists as they transition to and from civilian life.
The two days of break-out sessions included topics such as stress management, couples enrichment, parenting, and communications. The attendees also received briefings from the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Military One Source, military finance, and TRICARE.

Master Sgt. Randy Pantle, who attended the event with his wife Michaela, said that returning back to normal life was fairly easy after his deployment, but he and his wife still were able to garner a lot of valuable information from the Phoenix event.

"Yellow Ribbon is a really good program," said Sergeant Pantle. "It helped us discover what tools are available to us. What is available to us is unbelievable, but we also have been able to meet other people who've been through the things we have been through."

According to Bretthorst, since the Yellow Ribbon program has taken on a more regional concept in this fiscal year, it has allowed the program to focus more on the programs, including the youth programs.

"We have grown our youth program. Our youth programs have become very standardized. It isn't just child care," said Bretthorst. "They have an agenda and they have activities that revolve around having their ownership into the deployment process from the 5-year-old to the 18-year-old.

The next western regional Yellow Ribbon event will be held May 12-14, 2011 in Tempe, Ariz.