Thank you, Chairwoman Herseth-Sandlin and other committee members for the opportunity to speak with you about my experiences with transition. My name is Yvette Lassegard. My husband Ole is a sergeant for the 235th Military Police Company in the South Dakota Army National Guard. We have one son Aric, he is six years old.

Ole is a war veteran, having served twice in support of Iraqi Freedom. His first deployment was a state side mission at Ft. Carson Colorado from February 2003 to January 2004, and most recently he served in Afghanistan from October 2006 to January 2008 (12 months in country 3 months training).

I served as the Lead-Volunteer for the Family Readiness Group of our unit during both deployments and through the down time in between. This job was not always very easy, but it will be an experience I will carry with me for a lifetime.

During the first deployment, our soldiers were state side, which even though they were on home ground and it was not as stressful in the sense of the constant danger, it was no easier than their deployment overseas. They still were not (home). The transition back into our family and civilian lives I think went pretty smoothly at a personal level. However, even though these soldiers were considered veterans, after this deployment, I don’t think they always were treated as veterans by society. They heard a lot of “Oh you were only state side, that’s not so bad.” It was no different in most ways, they were still away from their families, civilian jobs, homes and they were treated as “deployed soldiers” by the military. These soldiers did have many of the same sacrifices, even though some people did not understand that.

When our unit was activated to go to Afghanistan about two years later, it was very different. The stress level was higher, they were in a war zone, again away from families, jobs, and home, but there was more support from the public. People were more accepting of this “real deployment”. When they came home this time they were treated like veterans, even though most of them already were veterans before they were in foreign soil. Transition this time, I think has been different; we both have become stronger and a little more independent in our time apart. Different things are more important to us, the most important being each other and our son. This time I worry about things like PTSD, and what other things Ole might be experiencing but, I do know that I felt more prepared to help with what he may need.

I think that our state does a wonderful job with helping the families and the soldiers both during deployments and transitions back into civilian life. Our State Family Assistance Center offers amazing support and information. They worked with me and the rest of the Family Readiness Group to help keep the families across our state informed about what was going on with their soldiers during deployment as well as help them prepare for the returning soldiers. The programs that are offered are outstanding, Military One Source, Troop and Family Counseling, the TRICARE benefits, and the benefits that the VA offers. I think that continued education for both the families as well as the soldiers about these programs is very important, especially after a deployment. I also think that trying to continue to educate the public is important. When a National Guard unit is deployed it affects everyone in the community, not only do love ones leave, but employees, employers, community volunteers, and friends. These deployments bring back changed soldiers, whether it is a state side mission or an overseas mission if more people are aware of the effects deployments can have as a whole, I think that transitions would be easier for everyone especially the soldiers.

Thank you for your time.