I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2090 

To establish the National Guard Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2007 

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota (for himself, Mr. HAYES, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mrs. 

BACHMANN, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. 

ELLISON, Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. OBERSTAR, 

and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To establish the National Guard Yellow Ribbon Reintegration 

Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Yellow Ribbon Re5 integration Program Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL GUARD YELLOW RIBBON REINTEGRA7 TION PROGRAM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense, in 

9 coordination with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, 

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1 shall establish a national combat veteran reintegration 

2 program to provide National Guard members and their 

3 families with sufficient information, services, referral, and 

4 proactive outreach opportunities throughout the entire de5 ployment cycle. This program shall be known as the Yel6 low Ribbon Reintegration Program. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration 

8 Program shall consist of informational events and activi9 ties for Reserve Component members, their families, and 

10 community members through the four phases of the de11 ployment cycle: 

12 (1) Pre-deployment. 

13 (2) Deployment. 

14 (3) Demobilization. 

15 (4) Post-deployment-reconstitution. 

16 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary and National 

17 Guard Bureau Chief shall consult with the following par18 ties during establishment of the program: 

19 (1) The Adjutant General of the Minnesota Na20 tional Guard and officials associated with the State’s 

21 ‘‘Beyond the Yellow Ribbon’’ Reintegration Pro22 gram. 

23 (2) Adjutants General of the remaining 53 

24 States and territories. 

25 (d) ORGANIZATION.— 

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1 (1) EXECUTIVE AGENT.—The Secretary shall 

2 designate the National Guard Bureau as the Depart3 ment of Defense executive agent for the Yellow Rib4 bon Reintegration Program. 

5 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE FOR RE6 INTEGRATION PROGRAMS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The National Guard 

8 Bureau shall establish the Office for Reintegra9 tion Programs within the National Guard Bu10 reau Joint Staff. This office shall administer all 

11 reintegration programs in coordination with 

12 State National Guard organizations. 

13 (B) OFFICE COMPOSITION.—The Office for 

14 Reintegration Programs shall consist of six full15 time National Guard Bureau personnel to ad16 minister the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Pro17 gram. The office shall be responsible for coordi18 nation with existing National Guard family and 

19 support programs. The Directors of the Army 

20 National Guard and Air National Guard may 

21 appoint liaison officers to work with the perma22 nent office staff. The office shall closely coordi23 nate with the Army National Guard and Air 

24 National Guard Directorates for Manpower and 

25 Personnel with respect to existing family supmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 port structure, mobilization schedules, training 

2 schedules, training plans and programs, and 

3 any other personnel issues. 

4 (3) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

5 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief of the Na6 tional Guard Bureau shall appoint an advisory 

7 board to analyze and report areas of success 

8 and areas for necessary improvements. The ad9 visory board shall include, but is not limited to, 

10 the Director of the Army National Guard, the 

11 Director of the Air National Guard, the Assist12 ant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, 

13 an Adjutant General on a rotational basis as 

14 determined by the Chief of the National Guard 

15 Bureau, the Director of the National Guard 

16 Bureau Manpower and Personnel Directorate 

17 (J–1), and any other Department of Defense, 

18 Federal Government agency, or outside organi19 zation as determined by the Chief of the Na20 tional Guard Bureau. The members of the advi21 sory board may designate representatives in 

22 their stead. 

23 (B) SCHEDULE.—The advisory board shall 

24 meet on a schedule as determined by the Chief 

25 of the National Guard Bureau. 

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1 (C) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The ad2 visory board shall issue internal reports as nec3 essary and shall submit an initial report to the 

4 Committees on Armed Services not later than 

5 180 days after the end of a one-year period 

6 from establishment of the Office for Reintegra7 tion Programs. This report shall contain— 

8 (i) an evaluation of the reintegration 

9 program’s implementation by State Na10 tional Guard organizations; 

11 (ii) an assessment of any unmet re12 source requirements; 

13 (iii) an assessment of the reintegra14 tion program’s inclusion of other Reserve 

15 Component service members and the neces16 sity for further expansion to incorporate all 

17 the Reserve Components; and 

18 (iv) recommendations regarding closer 

19 coordination between the Office of Re20 integration Programs and State National 

21 Guard organizations. 

22 The advisory board shall submit annual reports 

23 to the Committees on Armed Services following 

24 this initial report by the first week in March. 

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1 (4) ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTER FOR EXCEL2 LENCE IN REINTEGRATION.—The Chief shall estab3 lish a Center for Excellence in Reintegration. The 

4 Center shall collect and analyze ‘‘lessons learned’’ 

5 and suggestions from State National Guard organi6 zations with existing or developing reintegration pro7 grams. The Center shall also assist in developing 

8 training aids and briefing materials and training 

9 representatives from State National Guard organiza10 tions. 

11 (5) STATE DEPLOYMENT CYCLE SUPPORT

12 TEAMS.—The Office for Reintegration Programs 

13 shall employ 270 full-time employees to administer 

14 the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program at the 

15 State level. The Chief of the National Guard Bureau 

16 shall assign State Deployment Cycle Support Team 

17 members based on State need, geographical disper18 sion, and military population. The Office for Re19 integration Programs is encouraged to employ 

20 wounded service members and returning combat vet21 erans whenever possible. The primary function of 

22 team members should be— 

23 (A) developing and managing the re24 integration curriculum; 

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1 (B) contracting and recruiting for nec2 essary service providers; and 

3 (C) ensuring that providers’ skills adapt to 

4 the unique military nature of the reintegration 

5 program. 

6 (e) PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office for Reintegration 

8 Programs shall analyze the demographics, placement 

9 of State Family Assistance Centers (FAC), and 

10 FAC resources before a mobilization alert is issued 

11 to affected State National Guard organizations. The 

12 Office of Reintegration Programs shall consult with 

13 affected State National Guard organizations fol14 lowing the issuance of a mobilization alert and im15 plement the reintegration events in accordance with 

16 the Reintegration Program phase model. 

17 (2) PRE-DEPLOYMENT PHASE.—The Pre-De18 ployment Phase shall constitute the time from first 

19 notification of mobilization until deployment of the 

20 mobilized National Guard unit. Events and activities 

21 shall focus on providing education and ensuring the 

22 readiness of service members, families, and commu23 nities for the rigors of a combat deployment and 

24 shall include the following: 

25 (A) Service member readiness. 

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1 (B) Marriage counseling. 

2 (C) Youth counseling. 

3 (D) Family counseling. 

4 (E) Single service member counseling. 

5 (F) Information on resources available to 

6 service members and families. 

7 (G) Introduction to the Military OneSource 

8 program. 

9 (H) Department of Veterans Affairs re10 sources. 

11 (I) Small business planning. 

12 (J) Financial planning and education. 

13 (3) DEPLOYMENT PHASE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Deployment Phase 

15 shall constitute the period from deployment of 

16 the mobilized National Guard unit until the 

17 unit arrives at a demobilization station inside 

18 the continental United States. Events and serv19 ices provided shall focus on the challenges and 

20 stress associated with separation and having a 

21 service member in a combat zone. Events and 

22 services include support activities listed in sub23 paragraph (B) and reintegration preparation 

24 activities listed in subparagraph (C). Informa25 tion sessions should utilize State National 

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1 Guard resources in coordination with the Em2 ployer Support of Guard and Reserve Office, 

3 Transition Assistance Advisors, and the State 

4 Family Programs Director. 

5 (B) SUPPORT ACTIVITIES.— 

6 (i) Youth counseling. 

7 (ii) Family counseling. 

8 (iii) Community outreach. 

9 (iv) Continued contact with spouses 

10 and parents. 

11 (v) Information on resources available 

12 to family members, to include access to 

13 Military OneSource and child care. 

14 (vi) TRICARE and healthcare. 

15 (vii) Military pay and allowances. 

16 (C) REINTEGRATION PREPARATION ACTIVI17 TIES.— 

18 (i) FAMILY INFORMATION SES19 SIONS.—Family information sessions 

20 should prepare family members for the 

21 homecoming of their service member and 

22 to inform them on what they can do to 

23 make this transition as easy as possible. 

24 The sessions are designed to increase the 

25 family member’s knowledge of the remstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 integration process and to provide re2 sources to them as they go through the 

3 steps of reintegration. Information sessions 

4 should be offered at locations and times so 

5 as to accommodate as many family mem6 bers as possible. 

7 (ii) COMMUNITY INFORMATION SES8 SIONS.—The Community information ses9 sions should educate community leaders, 

10 clergy, schools, employers, mental health 

11 professionals, and family readiness groups 

12 (FRG) about the challenges of reintegra13 tion, and what they can do to assist com14 bat veterans and their families to success15 fully reintegrate back into the community. 

16 Information sessions should be offered at 

17 locations and times so as to accommodate 

18 as many participants as possible. 

19 (4) DEMOBILIZATION PHASE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Demobilization 

21 Phase shall constitute the period from arrival of 

22 the National Guard unit at the demobilization 

23 station until its departure for home station. In 

24 the interest of returning service members as 

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1 integration briefings during the Demobilization 

2 Phase shall be minimized. State Deployment 

3 Cycle Support Teams are encouraged, however, 

4 to assist demobilizing service members in enroll5 ing in the Department of Veterans Affairs sys6 tem using form 1010EZ during the Demobiliza7 tion Phase. State Deployment Cycle Support 

8 Teams may provide other events from the Ini9 tial Reintegration Activity as determined by the 

10 State National Guard organizations. Remaining 

11 events shall be conducted during the Post-De12 ployment-Reconstitution Phase. 

13 (B) INITIAL REINTEGRATION ACTIVITY.— 

14 The purpose of this reintegration program is to 

15 educate service members about the resources 

16 that are available to them and to connect serv17 ice members to service providers who can assist 

18 them in overcoming the challenges of reintegra19 tion. The Initial Reintegration Activity should 

20 include, but is not limited to— 

21 (i) informing service members of their 

22 veterans’ benefits; 

23 (ii) assisting with unemployment and 

24 enrollment in employment transition serv25 ices; 

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1 (iii) a driver safety briefing given by 

2 qualified law enforcement officials; 

3 (iv) identification of high-risk service 

4 members and establishment of plans for 

5 follow-on care; 

6 (v) identification of service members 

7 requiring follow-on health care; 

8 (vi) legal briefings and legal assist9 ance; and 

10 (vii) an opportunity for sexual assault 

11 victims to confidentially report such 

12 crimes. 

13 (5) POST-DEPLOYMENT-RECONSTITUTION

14 PHASE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Post-Deployment16 Reconstitution Phase shall constitute the period 

17 from arrival at home station until 180 days fol18 lowing demobilization. Activities and services 

19 provided shall focus on reconnecting service 

20 members with their families and communities 

21 and providing resources and information nec22 essary for successful reintegration. Reintegra23 tion events shall begin with elements of the Ini24 tial Reintegration Activity program that were 

25 not completed during the Demobilization Phase. 

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1 (B) 30-DAY, 60-DAY, AND 90-DAY RE2 INTEGRATION ACTIVITIES.—The State National 

3 Guard organizations shall hold reintegration ac4 tivities at the 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day inter5 val following demobilization. These activities 

6 shall focus on reconnecting service members 

7 and family members with the service providers 

8 from Initial Reintegration Activity to ensure 

9 service members and their families understand 

10 what benefits they are entitled to and what re11 sources are available to help them overcome the 

12 challenges of reintegration. The Reintegration 

13 Activities should also provide a forum for serv14 ice members and families to address negative 

15 behaviors related to combat stress and transi16 tion. One of the Reintegration Activities shall 

17 be for service members only to conduct a thor18 ough Post-Deployment Health Re-Assessment 

19 (PDHRA) of combat veterans and provide any 

20 remaining medical or dental services. Activities, 

21 events, and services provided at the 30-day, 60- 

22 day, and 90-day Reintegration Activities shall 

23 include, but not be limited to— 

24 (i) PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES.— 

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1 (I) Battlemind Training II for 

2 service members and their families. 

3 (II) Prevention and Relationship 

4 Enhancement Program (PREP) Mar5 riage Enrichment Workshop to focus 

6 on assisting service members to recon7 nect with their spouses. 

8 (III) Single service member chal9 lenges workshop. 

10 (IV) Parenting workshop to as11 sist service members to reconnect with 

12 their children. 

13 (V) Local services station pro14 gram with representatives from legal, 

15 TRICARE, Education Services, the 

16 Department of Veterans Affairs, State 

17 Veterans Centers, State Workforce of18 fices, chaplain’s office, County Vet19 erans Service Officers, Military 

20 OneSource, State tax officials, State 

21 Youth Programs, and National Guard 

22 unit administration offices. 

23 (VI) Anger management work24 shop. 

25 (VII) Substance abuse workshop. 

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1 (VIII) Gambling abuse workshop. 

2 (IX) Law enforcement briefing. 

3 (X) TRICARE and Military 

4 OneSource representatives. 

5 (XI) PDHRA with on-site sup6 port from Department of Veterans Af7 fairs Medical Centers, State veterans’ 

8 office representatives, and case man9 agers provided by the Department of 

10 Defense. 

11 (XII) Periodic Health Assess12 ment (PHA), if not provided during 

13 the Demobilization Phase. 

14 (XIII) Hearing audiogram, if not 

15 provided during the Demobilization 

16 Phase. 

17 (XIV) Dental examination, if not 

18 provided during the Demobilization 

19 Phase. 

20 (XV) Tuberculosis test. 

21 (XVI) Reintegration program as22 sessment. 

23 (XVII) Completion of any pend24 ing personnel or administrative ac25 tions. 

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1 (ii) SERVICE MEMBER PAY.—Service 

2 members shall receive appropriate pay for 

3 days spent attending the Reintegration Ac4 tivities. 

5 (C) MONTHLY INDIVIDUAL REINTEGRA6 TION PROGRAM.—The Office for Reintegration 

7 Programs, in coordination with State National 

8 Guard organizations, shall offer a monthly re9 integration program for individual service mem10 bers released from active duty or formerly in a 

11 medical hold status. The program shall focus on 

12 the special needs of this service member subset 

13 and the Office for Reintegration Programs shall 

14 develop an appropriate program of services and 

15 information. 

16 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

17 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

18 to be appropriated $23,000,000 for subsection (d) and 

19 such sums as may be necessary for subsection (e). 

Æ 

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