Unlike active duty servicemembers, who still have a full-time job, housing and other benefits in place when they return from a year-long deployment, returning Guard and Reserve soldiers and airmen may face an insecure future.  Many return home to find their jobs gone, their income reduced from a few thousand dollars a month to a few hundred.

They're called minutemen because "in a minute's notice they leave their jobs and families and communities to do the nation's work," said Tommy Carson, transition coach at Camp Murray's Joint Service Support Center (J9).  "But when they come back, we send them back to their local communities. We thank them for their service and think things will stay the same. But nothing stays the same."

Many "are unemployed or underemployed," Carson said, which "creates a lot of problems, such as domestic violence, divorce, suicide and attrition." Other issues for transitioning guardsmen and reservists include financial and family problems, behavioral health problems and even homelessness. "If you come back either physically or emotionally broken, there are particular challenges," said Transition Assistance Officer Annie DeAndrea. "You don't have a job. You can't go back to your old job. You're no longer on orders. It can be a trying time."

But the Washington National Guard J9 Directorate, known as the Joint Service Support Center, is there to help. Staff members at the J9 understand that navigating the myriad of available benefits and services can be daunting and work together to help not only returning and transitioning guardsmen and reservists, but also military veterans from all services and their families.

The facility opened two years ago in Building 3 on Camp Murray and brings together a variety of services under one roof.  Designed to be a one-stop shop, the J9 offers assistance with veteran's benefits, employment, reintegration, family support, psychological health, chaplain support services, suicide and sexual assault prevention, and more.

Though the directorate is headquartered on Camp Murray, there are 12 satellite offices located in armories throughout the state, from Bellingham to Yakima, to ensure Washington's citizen soldiers and airmen get the help they need when they need it most.

Transition Assistance

One important service offered at the J9 is transition assistance. After demobilizing and when coming off orders, DeAndrea said, service members' "patience level is low. They will make one phone call, and if they don't get what they want and need, they won't come back." But the J9 transition assistance advisors "take the time to assist you and not toss you into the ‘800-number' desert," according to information on the Washington National Guard Web site (www.washingtonguard.org). The TAAs with J9 "serve as the statewide point of contact to assist service members in accessing Veterans Affairs benefits and healthcare services," according to the Web site.

Benefit information includes Guard entitlements and access for health care in both Department of Defense and Veteran's Affairs medical facilities; TRICARE benefits while on active duty and as an OIF/OEF veteran; referral for possible compensation for injuries or illness sustained during OEF and OIF; insurance information; assistance with job searches and connection with ESGR for rights of employment; assistance with Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Services Organizations to file disability claims; and assistance in the event of financial hardship, health care issues, or unemployment needs.  DeAndrea calls herself the ultimate problem solver and says will "stay on the line until I get the answer I want."

Employment

Another significant service offered at the J9 is employment assistance. The facility has 13 employment transition coaches at Camp Murray, along with 11 more located at satellite offices throughout the state, who provide an array of services including resume and interview skills, education, training, and more. They also network with employers in the community as well as throughout the state to ensure veterans know what jobs are available. “We ask (service members): ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and assess what they want, what skills they already have and where they want to be,” said Rich Garmong, senior employment transition Coach at Camp Murray. “Then we make it happen.”

Counselors work one-on-one with transitioning service members to provide career and employment counseling — including resume development and interview skills — as well as job search techniques; access to hiring events and human resource managers; career management; targeted apprenticeship programs; and specialized on-the-job-training opportunities.

Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program

In addition to transition and employment assistance, the J9 assists Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen and their families with deployment cycle support and reintegration. The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, or YRRP, is a congressionally mandated, Department of Defense-wide program that began in 2008 to provide family and soldier support during the deployment cycle.  “The intent of the program is to prepare National Guard and Reserve members and their families for the deployment, sustain their families during the deployment and reintegrate the service members with their families, communities and employers upon re-deployment or release from active duty,” according to the YRRP Web site, www.jointservicesupport.org/YRRP.

As soon as a unit is alerted for deployment, the YRRP is initiated.  The first event is held about six months prior to deployment at a civilian venue near the unit’s armory, said Ken Schwarm, deployment cycle support specialist at Camp Murray’s J9.  Focus is on effective communication, handling stress and separation, and local resources.

During the deployment, one or two events are held for the families of the deployed service members. The focus is on communication and preparing for reunion and reintegration. Counselors with the Military Family Life Consultant program are on hand to provide confidential counseling as well. The events also provide “another opportunity for family members to come together and socialize and discuss their situations,” Schwarm said.

Making sure servicemembers, veterans and families know what assistance is available — and delivering — is the goal of the J9. With up to 70 percent of National Guard soldiers and airmen living at least an hour away from a military installation, the J9 Directorate on Camp Murray and its satellite offices ensure that Guard members get the information and services they need when they need it.

“There is assistance available,” Schwarm said. “You just have to ask for it.”

For more information about the J9, visit www.jointservicesupport.org or call (877) 585-5633. For more information about the National Guard, visit www.ng.mil, www.washingtonguard.org or www.guardfamily.org.