April 2012

Vol. IV, No. 7 

NTM-A and

45th BCT Augmentees

30/60-Day and MIRT 

Metro Area

Reintegration event

C Co. 2-211 FPA 

Metro Area

Family Preparation Academy

ESGR Banquet 

Minnetonka

NTM-A,

C Co. 1-171 and

Ag. Dev. Team

30/60-Day and FRA 

Metro Area

Reintegration event and Family Readiness Academy

HQ 1/34 BCT,

1/34 BSTB,

TUAS and 

C Co. 1-171

30/60-Day 

Metro

Reintegration event

1-94 CAV 30-Day
June 30, 2012

Duluth

Reintegration event

Laketrails Base Camp 

July 10-18, 2012

July 29 - Aug. 6, 2012

Aug. 7-15, 2012

Special offer for military teens

Camp Gratitude 

Free for military families

1-125 FA 30-Day
July 8, 2012

Mankato

Reintegration event

HHC 1-194 AR,

A Co. 1-194 AR,

B Co. 1-194 AR,

C Co. 1-194 AR,

D Co. 1-194 AR and

134 BSB

30-Day 

St. Cloud

July 15, 2012

St. Cloud

Reintegration event

2-135 IN 30-Day
July 21, 2012

Rochester

Reintegration event

Minnesota National Guard Youth & Teen Camp, Weeks 1 & 2 

For children of Minnesota National Guard Servicemembers

1-125 FA and

2-135 IN 60-Day
Aug. 4, 2012

Mankato

Aug. 5, 2012

Rochester

Reintegration event

HQ 1/34 BCT,

TUAS, HHC BSTB,

A Co. BSTB, 

B Co. BSTB,

C Co. BSTB and

1-94 CAV

60-Day 

Metro

Aug. 12, 2012

Duluth

Reintegration event

Camp Voyageur 

Military youth ages 8-14

134 BSB,

A Co. 1-194 AR,

B Co. 1-194 AR,

C Co. 1-194 AR,

D Co. 1-194 AR and

HHC 1-194 AR

60-Day 

St. Cloud

Aug. 19, 2012

St. Cloud

Reintegration event

Military Appreciation

Day at the

Minnesota State Fair 

Strong Bonds

Single Soldier

Retreat

Sep. 7-9, 2012
Brainerd

Register here

Written by guest columnist Kirsten Fisher, youth programs coordinator

Recognition: credit, acknowledgment, gratitude, appreciation, respect. These synonyms epitomize the Month of the Military Child.

"Pretty cool and unexpected," was 16-year-old Maddy's response when asked about the letter she received from Gov. Mark Dayton. "I've been a military child for a long time and I didn't expect anything." 

This seems to be the sentiment of many proud Minnesota military youth.   

Since its beginning in 1986, the Department of Defense has teamed with partners to recognize the courage of military children. More than 1.7 million American children under the age of 18 have at least one parent serving in the military. The Month of the Military Child's intent is to honor the strength of military children and youth. In Minnesota, military children may register to receive a letter for their supportive service from the Governor.

Calista experienced her resilience when her father was deployed twice. First at three-years-old and again at five-years-old, Calista remembers vividly how sad she was the day he left, then how excited she was to have him home. Now a fourth-grader, Calista said, "It feels good to get it [a letter from the Governor] from someone you haven't met and they know about you."

In the letter, the Governor expresses gratefulness for "our smallest heroes" and their supportive role in the deployment process.

As for being a "hero," Maddy said, "I guess it came with the package. The only person I consider a hero is my dad and the other Soldiers."  Maddy's father is a 22-year veteran of the Army and National Guard.

Register a child to receive the Governor's letter here.

The month of April has been designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM, in the United States.

It has been a long time coming, but since 2005, the Department of Defense has made great strides in implementing the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program.

The Minnesota National Guard feels very strongly about its prevention efforts, victim response and care and holding perpetrators accountable.

To ensure these goals are being met, there are approximately 150 trained Victim Advocates throughout Minnesota that provide the required training and immediate response to sexual assault survivors.  

Lastly, the Minnesota National Guard has continued its partnership with the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the leader in combating Domestic and Sexual Violence issues throughout Minnesota.    

Sexual Violence is intolerable, devastating and contrary to the Army and Air Force Core Values. Not to mention, inhumane. The Minnesota National Guard is taking action, demanding change and taking a stand against a culture that creates such violence for its Servicemembers and their families.

Last month, the newly formed Hiawatha Valley Family Yellow Ribbon Network had an interesting question for the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon team:

"Who, specifically, do we serve?

 Do we include all veterans? Those who served in World War II? Vietnam? Just those currently deployed? What is common practice?"

The area's Yellow Ribbon Outreach Coordinator, Staff Sgt. Dave Thul, responded:

"This is a common question, and there is no 100 percent answer. Clearly the focus has been on those currently in uniform and their families as they are the ones most in need of help. A deployment to a combat zone is a life changing event, and families usually have the most need of assistance shortly before, during and just after a deployment.

"But Yellow Ribbon Networks also assist veterans for a couple of reasons. First, because most people hear the word "veteran" and think of the World War II and Vietnam eras. They certainly are veterans, but so are the Servicemembers who were on active duty in 2003 and went to Iraq but have since left the service.

"All veterans have a lot of resources available to them including the County Veterans Service Officer, American Legion and VFW, so networks may not have to do anything more than help them make a connection to groups that are already there.

"With the war in Iraq now over and the war in Afghanistan winding down, a strict focus on currently deployed Servicemembers would leave networks with fewer to serve. While it is nice to think of having no Servicemembers and military families separated by deployment or training, historically that is not the case. 

"Please keep in mind that this is your Yellow Ribbon network and you can be different from other groups. Who your Yellow Ribbon Network serves is up to your Yellow Ribbon Network."

"What's Your Yellow Ribbon Story?" is a new Beyond the Yellow Ribbon campaign focused on sharing stories about the amazing things Yellow Ribbon Networks across the state are accomplishing. It's an opportunity for Servicemembers, military families and volunteers to tell their stories.

Click on the "What's Your Yellow Ribbon Story?" banner above to read the first three stories.

If you share your Yellow Ribbon Story with Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, we'll be sure to tell your story on Facebook! You can submit your 200-300 word story and photo by email.

All children in Minnesota who have family members in the military are supported by the Minnesota National Guard Family Programs, regardless of branch. The State Family Program Office developed a curriculum called the "Military Kids Toolkit" to support military children in elementary, middle and high school.  

The Military Kids Toolkit fulfills an important need. While it is hard to calculate the exact number of military children, there are nearly 15,000 Air and Army Minnesota National Guard members. It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 military families when all Reserve Component branches of the Armed Forces are included.

The Toolkit is an electronic tool that includes the "Military Kids: Peer Support Initiative" curriculum, websites and training. The educational goals of the lessons are to identify military youth within schools and to foster resiliency in military connected youth through a support group.
 

Currently, a pilot of the Military Kids Toolkit is implemented in nine schools around the state. When presented with the option of launching the pilot program, the State Family Program Office received a high degree of positive responses from school counselors and social workers.The Military Kids Toolkit is the first structured program offered for educators to support military children.

The Military Kids Toolkit is free of charge and will be available for the 2012-13 school years and can be requested through the State Youth Coordinators.

Superintendants, counselors, social workers and parents can request the Military Kids Toolkit online here. From there, an application can be submitted and a member of the Minnesota National Guard State Family Program Office will contact you.

Parkway Lawn Service

When a spouse deploys, it's hard to manage everything alone. At times, the smallest tasks can seem overwhelming and hard to keep up with.

Since 2005, Parkway Lawn Service has helped families of deployed Servicemembers with their lawn care and snow removal.

"Bob and the guys from Parkway came to help us out this summer while my husband was deployed," said Barb Kelii. "The guys did an amazing job each week.  I was impressed with the care they took."

This Minneapolis-based business is co-owned by brothers Bob and Greg Kroth.

"I feel happy to be helping these families," said Bob. "The very least we can do is to try and help out."

Mowing the lawn or removing snow may come easy to the team at Parkway Lawn Service, but the hundreds of hours they've given are invaluable to the military families they serve.

"They are so quick and efficient that it took less than 30 minutes to do what would take us four hours. It was greatly appreciated," said Kelii.