November 2011

Vol. IV, No. 2 

Veteran's Day
Nov. 11, 2011

Veteran's Day Observance and Military Display
Nov. 10-12, 2011
Willmar

OMLT IV 30-day

and 407th AR FRA
Nov. 19, 2011

Metro Area

30-day reintegration event and Family Readiness Academy.

Morris Yellow

Ribbon Kickoff
Nov. 19, 2011

Morris TACC

Chanhassen 

Yellow Ribbon

Kickoff
Nov. 19, 2011

Chanhassen American

Legion

Thanksgiving
Nov. 24, 2011

Duluth

Yellow Ribbon

Proclamation
Dec. 14, 2011

OMLT IV 60-day
Dec. 17, 2011
Metro Area

Reintegration event.

Christmas
Dec. 25, 2011

New Year's Day
Jan. 1, 2012

FPA for the

107th TMDE,

OMLT VI and

257th MP
Jan. 7, 2012
St. Cloud Area

Family Preparation Academy

B 2-211 30-day
Jan. 7, 2012
St. Cloud Area

Reintegration event.

Strong Bonds

Deployed Spouse

Retreat
Jan. 13-14, 2012
Metro Area

Register here.

Fredom Award Nominations Due
Jan. 16, 2012

Learn how to nominate your employer here.

Strong Bonds

Couples Retreat
Feb. 10-12, 2012
Metro Area

Register here.

Strong Bonds

Couples Retreat
June 22-24, 2012
Metro Area

Register here.

Strong Bonds

Couples Retreat
July 27-29, 2012
Metro Area

Register here.

Strong Bonds

Couples Retreat
Aug. 24-26, 2012
Brainerd

Register here.

Strong Bonds

Single Soldier

Retreat

Sep. 7-9, 2012
Brainerd

Register here.

 The 'Make a Difference' button is in place ready to assist individuals who want to support deployed Servicemembers and their families this holiday season at www.BeyondTheYellowRibbon.org.

"We have created a 'Make a Difference' button on our website to assist in aligning the good intensions of Minnesotans with actual needs of military families," said Army 2nd Lt. Melanie K. Nelson, public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Gaurd.

"Each year, the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon office sees an incredible outpouring of individuals that want to do something for Servicemembers and their families," said Nelson. "The most common questions include; 'How can I send care packages to deployed service members?' and 'How do I connect with my local Yellow Ribbon Network?'" The 'Make a Difference' button connects individuals to their local Family Assistance Centers, geographically dispersed throughout the state, to answer those questions at the local level."

"Business, organizations and volunteer networks that want to give their time or offer discounts on products and services are encouraged to register with the Military Family Care Initiative website," said Nelson. By joining the over 500-hundred other groups already registered, businesses and organizations can be easily found by military families in need of support. The 'Make a Difference' button will connect individuals to register.

"There are dozens of nonprofit organizations headquartered in Minnesota that support military families," said Nelson. The 'Make a Difference' button will connect individuals to these organizations that already have holiday plans in the works.

There are currently more than 3,000 Minnesota National Guard

Servicemembers deployed, and many more Minnesotans deployed with the Reserves or active duty components.

They gathered together on a windy autumn morning. There was about 130 of them seated at round tables. Some knew each other from last year, while some were brand new to this group and didn't know how this day, this weekend, would unfold.

They stood up, one-by-one, and shared the reason why they were there...

"Our son died on July 21, 2011."

"My son was killed during his fourth tour in Iraq."

"We pick up our son from Dover Air Force Base one year ago yesterday, he was killed in Afganistan."

"Our brother died on September 11, 2004."

"I lost my son on June 6, 2011. He was 20 years old."

"I lost my husband July 28, 2010 in an airplane crash in Alaska."

"I lost my son on July 29, 2006. Today would have been his birthday. He would have been 25."

"We lost our son on October 10, 2010 from an IED. At least we're in good company."

They are Minnesota's Gold Star Families.

Minnesota's Gold Star Retreat was held October 14-16, 2011 at Madden's on Gull Lake in Brainerd, Minn. For the fourth year in a row Gold Star families came together for a weekend of healing, sharing and remembering their Servicemember who died while on active duty.

The final morning the families gathered in the memorial room, a place with memorials for each of the fallen. The moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents and children wrote a note to their loved one on a tag. Then as they exited the building they were handed a red, white or blue helium balloon and greeted by a lone piper and dozens of waving flags from the Honor Guard.

Each family member tied their note to their balloon as the bagpipe music blew through the air. Then, all together, they let their heartfelt notes fly into the air, and they were left on the ground in solidarity with their Gold Star Family.

The Gold Star Retreat was organized and planned by Minnesota's Survivor Outreach Services (SOS) coordinators Jonathan Groeneweg and Gail Springborg. SOS provides assistance with benefits and entitlements, referrals for financial and grief counseling, support-events to network with other survivors and works with organizations to enhance services to survivors. There is no funding support for the retreat from the Army, and funding for the retreat in 2012 is threatened.

The city of Red Wing was proclaimed a Yellow Ribbon community on Nov. 5, at a ceremony held at the National Guard Armory. The community includes a 30-mile radius around Red Wing, including Pierce County, Goodhue County and parts of Wabasha and Dakota counties.

Approximately 100 distinguished guests attended the ceremony, including Governor Mark Dayton and Minnesota National Guard Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Bertrang.

The armory also held an Open House, allowing the public to see recent improvements made to the Red Wing Readiness and Training Center. Soldiers visited with guests and military equipment was on display.

The president of the Yellow Ribbon network, Lance Garrick, a retired Army veteran from Red Wing. There are 30 people on the board, but they are always seeking volunteers.

"Our motto is: Making our Veterans feel at home, at home," said Garrick.

Red Wing joins an amazing network of Yellow Ribbon communities that unite all areas within a community to create a comprehensive network that connects and coordinates agencies, organizations, resources and employers for the purpose of proactively supporting Servicemembers and military families.

Although the network was organized to help veterans and their families after returning from a deployment, any veteran can seek assistance from the group.

To learn how you can become involved with your local Yellow Ribbon network, visit www.BeyondTheYellowRibbon.org.

What is resiliency? Ask a Master Resiliency Trainer and he'll say, "What's the difference between an egg and a tennis ball?"

The difference is in what those two objects do when a certain amount of pressure is applied to them - a tennis ball will bounce back, but an egg will simply crack.

"People go in between the broken egg and the resilient tennis ball," said Advocacy R3SP (Resilience, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) Curriculum Development Officer 2nd Lt. Edgar Moore. "Resiliency training is about getting word out that people can go back-and-forth, and even be in-between."

By teaching Soldiers how to be more self aware and optimistic, two of the six Master Resiliency Training (MRT) core competencies, Soldiers will be able to act more like a tennis ball and less like the fragile egg.

"The goal is to stay at that tennis ball state," Moore said.

The resiliency course, typically a two-week school conducted as a joint initiative between the United States Army and the University of Pennsylvania, was designed to enhance the Soldier's effectiveness and well-being and develop leadership potential. The courses other four competencies are self regulation, mental agility, strengths of character and connection. The lessons are designed to stop counterproductive thinking, take other perspectives and build strong relationships by mastering positive and effective communication.

MRT lessons and practical exercises "get them [Soldiers] to lock in on actual, every day events -to understand what those events really mean to the Soldier, and to not blow those activating events out of proportion," Moore said. "Those skills make you more self-aware."

By being more self-aware, Soldiers will be able to understand their actions and thought processes - and help them bounce back from adversity.

MRT is currently in the "Stand-up" process - that is getting the program off the ground. Last week, Moore and others from the R3SP program conducted a four-day training course, certifying Minnesota's 11 Family Assistance Center personnel as Resiliency Training Assistants (RTA). Moore said the goal is to eventually have enough RTAs to institute the training of Soldiers at the unit level.

Embedded providers have been available for units to utilize during drill weekends for more than a year, supplied and funded by the Minnesota National Guard (MNNG). Unit commanders are finding them to be a great resource for their Soldiers who may need help resolving issues.

"An embedded provider is a behavioral health care specialists that is available to the units at their training sites during drill weekends, annual training and family readiness events," said Capt. Rich Brummond, Resilience, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention (R3SP) coordinator. "They provide stigma-free, confidential and convenient access to mental health care professionals during duty hours."

Embedded Providers are available and can be reserved by unit commanders throughout the state. To request an embedded provider, commanders can visit the "Embedded Provider Schedule" on the MNNG's SharePoint website. Those without access to SharePoint can contact their local Family Assistance Center.

"Unit commanders are seeing results from utilizing embedded providers," said Brummond. "Soldiers are able to confide in someone and get help, allowing mental clarity for their mission at drill."

Embedded providers are a key component of the R3SP program. As units continue to utilize embedded providers, funding will be made available to provide them through 2012.

Guest Columnist Mike Wold, Saint John Neumann Catholic Church ministry chair

Saint John Neumann Catholic Church, located in Eagan, started its Military Service Support Ministry in early 2008. As a United States Navy veteran, I am honored to lead a great team of talented congregation members who, like me, are passionate about serving military personnel and their families with congregational prayer, recognition, deployment support and family services.

In the last three years, we have touched the lives of more than 30 deployed troops and their families. We "adopt" troops and their units, sending them items they request.

We adopted Lt. Col. John Morris, Minnesota National Guard state chaplain, and his unit on his last deployment to Iraq. More recently we adopted 1st Lt. Rick Messer, MNNG chaplain and Howard Lake Christian Church pastor, his family and his troops on their current deployment. We met with Rick and his wife Kathleen to determine their needs and identified a contact point for Kathleen.

We invited Rick and Kathleen to a special prayer service, introducing them to our congregation. We have a picture of Rick and his family on our prayer board, and have sent items that he has requested to Kuwait. Periodically we check in with Kathleen, and honored her at a special prayer service we do every year for Veteran's Day, prior to our veterans appreciation dinner.

Kedrowski's story

Guest columnist 1st Lt. Adam Kedrowski, yellow ribbon outreach coordinator

The Mall of America has a history of supporting Servicemembers and military families. They are a supportive military employer recently receiving recognition from Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), and actively support the local Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Communities. 

The Mall of America was aware that my National Guard unit was having a holiday party and wanted to support. I had no idea how charitable they were going to be. Very generously, they provided point passes to Nickelodeon Universe for every Soldier, guest and child attending the holiday party.

It is really uplifting to see such generosity. Corporate responsibility of this type needs to be recognized and praised. Keep up the excellent work Mall of America. I look forward to visiting Nickelodeon Universe in the near future.