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Reserve families relax, reintegrate at Yellow Ribbon event

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Steve Lewis
  • 459th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. --  The 459th Air Refueling Wing hosted a Yellow Ribbon event at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center for Airmen and their family members, Nov. 19-21.

The event was part of the overall Yellow Ribbon Reintegration program, which is a congressionally-legislated directive that provides Reserve and National Guard Airmen and their family with deployment support and reintegration programs. Outreach services are available to servicemembers during every step of the mobilization process, including the pre-deployment, deployment and post-deployment phases.

Airmen who attended the three-day Yellow Ribbon event recently returned from deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and Guam. Part of their reintegration involved sessions with several agencies including the chaplain's office, the legal office and the medical group. The Gaylord event further augmented those reintegration sessions and provided a more relaxed atmosphere for Airmen to enjoy time with their loved ones.

Families were given briefings on Veterans benefits, Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve, personal finance and healthy living. In between activities and break-out sessions, Airmen and their families were also treated to performances by the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard drill team and the U.S. Air Force premier rock band, Max Impact.

Col. James M. Allman, 459 ARW commander, presided over the Yellow Ribbon event. "Yellow Ribbon is a critical benefit to our Reserve members and their family. It helps with retention, developing resilience and creating the support that's needed by everyone involved in the deployment process," Colonel Allman said. "Overall, I thought the weekend was outstanding," he said.

Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Hutcherson, 69th Aerial Port Squadron first sergeant and Yellow Ribbon event planner, helped to ensure the success of the weekend by working with multiple wing offices.

"This was the wing's third Yellow Ribbon event. I think the program really helps our Airmen who normally get a little too much information before and after deployments while going through those processing lines. This weekend provided them with a different a setting and got them the information they needed all at once," Sergeant Hutcherson said.

Staff Sgt. John Arsenault, 69th APS transportation specialist, joined fellow Airmen in the Yellow Ribbon event. He returned from a deployment to Afghanistan and had been to a similar event before he went overseas earlier this year.

"I thought the event was great. It gave us all a good opportunity to learn about our benefits as veterans," Sergeant Arsenault said. "The education and healthy living sessions were especially informative to me."