Support Available During the “New Normal”

As the Adjutant General has pointed out, the Minnesota National Guard has been called on to take on unprecedented responsibilities and missions in the “new normal”.  In turn, Soldiers and Airmen of the Minnesota National Guard are being depended on more than ever before.  You are making sure your families are taken care of, continuing your education and managing your schedule around training and deployments.  In short, today’s citizen warriors are fulfilling their obligation to the Guard and country while making sure they are building the life they want for themselves and their families.

There are many resources available to help support you and your families as we maintain our “Always Ready” posture.  Remember, your first stop should always be your chain of command, but there are many organizations specifically tasked to help.  I encourage you to check out the many different resources that are available to you and your families.

The Minnesota National Guard updates and maintains a website that can help you find information about the Guard, current Guard news, upcoming events, as well as links and contact information for programs and resources available to you and your family.  For more information, visit www.minnesotanationalguard.org.

The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon (BTYR) is a national re-integration program that was pioneered by the Minnesota National Guard. The BTYR offers a wide range of services and programs for Guard personnel in a number of areas.  The BTYR is available to help servicemembers and family members in the transition from warrior to citizen.  For more information, visit www.beyondtheyellowribbon.org.

The First Lady’s Military Care Initiative represents an outpouring of concern for Minnesota’s military families.  Organizations throughout the state of Minnesota have turned their concern into action by registering their wiliness to help during times of deployment.  If your loved one is deployed, we encourage you to search this site for a list of organizations near your home that are willing to provide volunteer services to military families.  For more information, visit www.militaryfamilies.state.mn.us.
 
Military OneSource is a valuable tool available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.  Military OneSource is provided by the Department of Defense at no cost to active duty, Guard and Reserve (regardless of activation status) and their families. It is a virtual extension of installation services.  For more information, visit www.militaryonesource.com.

Edward Scott Mills
Command Sergeant Major, Minnesota National Guard

The proper folding of the Minnesota State Flag

I received a lot of phone calls on the proper folding of the Minnesota Flag and did some research and found out that the was no etiquette, there was no protocol, there was nothing in our state statutes that told us how to do it so we went out and did some research on other states and found out that about 50% of other states had something in their statute that told you how to fold their flag.

 We feel that our Minnesota Soldiers, our police officers our firefighters if presented the flag should have it presented in the appropriate manner, so we decided to figure out a way to do it. It is really to honor those who have worked for the state or have lost their lives in service to the state.

Edward Scott Mills
Command Sergeant Major, Minnesota National Guard

More information, video and flag folding diagram.

State CSM's Message to the Force

State CSM's Corner Documents

MN ARNG Headgear Policy.pdf

Stop Loss Compensation Pay.pdf

Support Available During the "New Normal".pdf

Related Links

Minnesota National Guard

Beyond the Yellow Ribbon

The First Lady's Military Family Care Initiative

Military OneSource

Retroactive Stop Loss