By Andrea Carlile
Tech Sgt. Nicholas Carbonia, a crew member with the 188th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, left, speaks with Jon Woodham, a representative with the Arkansas Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve chapter during a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration predeployment event March 3, 2012, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas
I was introduced to the Yellow Ribbon Program for the Air Force Reserves in 2013 in Norfolk, Virginia after my story and book, The War That Came Home, was featured in USA Today about how PTSD affects the entire family.
The Yellow Ribbon contacted my husband and me about sharing our story at an event. I would soon discover what an incredible gem the Yellow Ribbon Program is for Reserve families. It offers resources, workshops, and the opportunity to meet and connect with other families who are at various stages of deployment. With June being PTSD awareness month, it’s a great time to highlight the importance of this wonderful program, as well as the online anonymous mental health self-assessments Military Pathways offers at www.MindBodyStrength.org. Once at the site, users enter some demographic information and answer a simple set of questions about their symptoms and get immediate feedback and resources.
When my husband was deployed 4 years ago as an Air Force Reservist, the Yellow Ribbon was in its infancy and we did not even know about it. My husband was later diagnosed with PTSD and I was truly lost and did not know how to deal with the disorder. Four years later, at a Yellow Ribbon deployment event for Air Force Reserves, I ventured down the hall and rows of tables of information and wonderful personnel so willing to help. I was amazed! All this would have helped me immensely back when my husband came home with PTSD.
Pre and Post-Deployment Events
Yellow Ribbon holds an event for units before deployment, and three events upon returning (post-deployment), and there they cover a lot of ground. They offer information on everything from mental health to employment. I was impressed at how far awareness and education about PTSD and other deployment issues have come since my husband was deployed in 2009 and certainly from when he deployed in 2003. Military Pathways often provides free materials to National Guard pre- and post-deployment events and the educational and promotional materials help direct people to www.MindBodyStrength.org where they can take self-assessments.
Employment, Mental Health Support
There were workshops on writing resumes and organizations that assist Reservists with employment. (The unemployment rate for veterans is higher than that of civilians.) There were counseling groups, educational pamphlets, and chaplaincy to assist with combat stress and other psychological issues. Groups were present to support the families as they were dealing with all sorts of reintegration issues.
Peer Support
In the workshops we conducted, I saw those who were joyously celebrating their spouse returning encouraged those who were fearfully and sadly watching their spouse depart. These seasoned veterans offered support and encouragement, advice and life experience to those who were living through a deployment for the first time.
A few months later, I attended another Yellow Ribbon event, this time for the Army National Guard Wounded Warrior Transition Unit. I listened to story after story of the pain of facing PTSD, and the courage and long journey that those carrying these wounds must endure. There was a powerful connection with other spouses who were acting as caretakers, and walking a long and similar path. I left the event feeling refreshed, hopeful, and encouraged. I knew I was not alone. I saw a story I knew too well in the tears of those who I met, and I found connections that can only come from someone who has forged a similar journey.
Yellow Ribbon Future
As someone who was involved with two different Yellow Ribbon events, I feel the need to advocate for its importance and necessity. Whether the effects of a deployment are severe, such as coming back wounded or developing PTSD, or just that you need support as a family attempts to reintegrate, deployments are not a concept that a civilian can truly understand. Yellow Ribbon brings a community of Reservists and National Guard members and resources together to navigate these challenges and ensures that no one has to walk alone.
As I chatted with a command sergeant major that had PTSD, he began to weep and shared how he never knew how everything affected his family. He saw things differently after hearing my story and wanted to let his wife know how much he appreciated her standing by his side. After hearing his story, I looked at the man and realized I had never seen a soldier of such rank be so open and humble and I knew that I had gained new understanding of what it means to sacrifice. Yellow Ribbon brings together those who can help each other walk a challenging journey that comes only from shared life experience. Our service members and their families deserve this program to help them through the deployment process and to have access to those resources that they will need to overcome the challenges that they will likely face.
Andrea Carlile is the spouse of a 12-year military veteran, received her Master’s from Indiana Wesleyan University, speaks to groups about PTSD, and is pursuing a career in Family and Marital Therapy. The War That Came Home is her first novel, and she will be releasing her second novel “Transformation” this summer.
