Yellow Ribbon Program
Following the suicide of Iraq war veteran Chris Dana in 2007, Governor Schweitzer started the Yellow Ribbon Program. Schweitzer testified in Washington D.C. saying, “the federal government does an excellent job at turning a civilian into a warrior, I think they have an equal responsibility in turning that warrior back into a civilian.” More than 13% of adult Montanans are veterans.
This program developed policies and procedures that each Montana Guardsmen would undergo to ensure that physical and mental health were documented before, during, and after deployment. Automatic enrollment into the Veterans Affairs system would also be required of guardsmen to ensure delivery of benefits entitled.
Following its success in Montana, the Yellow Ribbon Program was implemented nationally and is now a part of the National Defense Act.
Read more about this topic: Brian Schweitzer
Famous quotes containing the words yellow, ribbon and/or program:
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A Ribbon at a time--”
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—For the State of Iowa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)