WILLMAR -- Tuesday is the deadline to register for a Jan. 15 event sponsored by the Minnesota National Guard that focuses on the reintegration of soldiers into the community.
The no-cost event "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Training" will run from 1 to 3 p.m. at Roosevelt Elementary School and is designed to help the community prepare for the return of soldiers from deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. Presentations will inform participants on how to help soldiers re-enter the work force and help them deal with combat and operational stress.
A similar event conducted this summer drew more than 100 community members, many of whom were from social services, health services and law enforcement agencies, Roosevelt Principal Patti Dols said.
Dols attended the summer training session and has helped organize the new event. She said the training is something quite personal to the staff of Roosevelt because one of the school's teachers, Jason Hultgren, is currently deployed to Iraq. Dols said all of the staff members from the school will attend the training. She also urged others from the community to participate.
"It's gonna take all of us," she said.
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Chaplin John Morris of the Minnesota Army National Guard will be the main presenter at the event. In a letter dated Oct. 30, Morris asked for support from community leaders.
The session comes just a few months before around 3,000 National Guard soldiers are expected to return from deployments. Dols said that many troops have never returned to the state at one time. She said community members need to know the appropriate things to say around veterans and their families as well as try to understand what they may have gone through.
"I haven't been to war," she said. "I don't know what that feels like."
Those interested in attending the event are asked to R.S.V.P. by phone at 320-231-8474 or e-mail at dolsp@ willmar.k12.mn.us
