Publication: Bemidji Pioneer
August 15th, 2007 - After serving 16 months in Iraq, it’s understandable that returning troops don’t want to take up formation, undergo inspection, or even show up for any kind of further hands-on training. That’s why the Pentagon has a “hands-off policy” where returning soldiers are exempt from being called for mandatory activities for 60 days after they return home from combat, although it does allow the military to organize voluntary activities for the troops.
While well-intentioned policy, it also throws up a barrier which prevents some soldiers who have trouble transitioning to civilian life from receiving the help they need but may not recognize they need.
The Pentagon, however, through a phone Tuesday to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., from Undersecretary of Defense David Chu, said the policy would be waived on a pilot basis for Minnesota National Guard troops returning home from combat.
That’s good news, as the move will also allow returning troops, including those in Bemidji, to participate in a unique Minnesota reintegration program, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, which Chu told Coleman the Defense Department has now decided to fund at federal expense.
Both Coleman and fellow Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty had pushed to rescind the 60-day policy, and Coleman and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, DFL-Minn., have co-sponsored legislation for a federal Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program modeled after Minnesota’s successful effort.
The state’s Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program provides informational events and activities to assist National Guard soldiers, families and community members through all phases of their deployment cycle including pre- and post-deployment. Such events and activities include family and marriage counseling, financial planning and education, small business planning, community outreach, and health care and veterans benefits education. The bill also requires reintegration activity seminars 30, 60 and 90 days after soldiers return home to assist returning troops and their families with specific challenges presented by the reintegration process.
Soldiers won’t be called back to perform duty activities, but making available help through the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program is just one more tool to make the transition easier for those who have served us well, and have been away from home for two years.
“I have met with members of the 1/34th who recently returned home, and they have told me time and time again that adjusting to life as a civilian alongside their comrades is one of the most important components of the redeployment process,” Coleman said Tuesday.
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