WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After being deployed to Afghanistan for nearly eight months, the Marines of Personnel Retrieval and Processing Company (-), 4th Marine Logistics Group, gathered with their loved ones for the Yellow Ribbon Re-Integration Program Post-deployment training conference, Jan. 24-25, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The unit, after being deployed to Camp Bastion and Kandahar, Afghanistan, attended the training as a required follow-up to their return to the continental United States.
The YRRP post-deployment training was organized by the 4th MLG Family Readiness Officer, Hillary Robinson, and featured resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Red Cross, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Marine For Life, and other organizations which offer financial, health and employment advice.
“This training gives the Marines the tools needed to successfully re-integrate into their family and civilian lives,” said Robinson. “Each person will be able to take away a piece of knowledge to use for themselves.”
Sgt. Janelle Naranjo, a team leader with Det. PRP Co. (-), said that the training bore similarities to the training provided during transition from active duty to the Selected Marine Corps Reserve.
“This training is a bit of a refresher for me, but for the Reserve Marines who are returning from their first time on an active-component status, they are getting a feel of what resources are out there to help them,” Naranjo said. “I’ve used a lot of these resources to transition back into the civilian sector, mainly to help with my education and medical benefits.”
The Marines also received a welcome brief from 4th MLG Sgt. Maj. Gary Smith. He emphasized the importance of “The Four Ships”: leadership, partnership, friendship and mentorship within their units to foster unit camaraderie and resiliency among individual Marines.
“This program is extremely useful because it takes us Marines where we need to go with our training,” Smith said. “There is no ‘taking a knee,’ because Marines need to remain ready, relevant and responsive. We need Marines to be able to ‘snap back’ and remain resilient, and it is our job to give them the tools to be resilient.”
For more information about the resources offered by the Yellow Ribbon Re-Integration Program, Marines can contact their unit’s family readiness officer.