MADISON, Wis. — Hundreds of soldiers from throughout the state gathered at the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) event in Middleton on Saturday. The event was helping prepare them for their deployment sometime this fall.
YRRP is a Department of Defense effort to promote the well-being of National Guard and Reserve members, and their families and communities, by connecting them with resources throughout the deployment cycle.
Paul Cusick, operations officer for 157th maneuver enhancement brigade, is the father of son, Finegan Cusick, and husband to Carrie Cusick. In the fall, he’ll have to leave them for 12 months as he deploys to Africa.
Finegan Cusick's father will be deployed to Africa this fall. (Cody Taylor/Spectrum News 1)
Paul Cusick said he’s already been deployed four times. His son has only been around for two of those; during the first time, his son was only three.
“We’re pretty good buddies and I am the one who takes him to soccer practice, and I am the one who throws baseball in the backyard with him, so this one is going to be a little tougher, I think, for all three of us,” said Paul Cusick.
Now that his son is a little older, Paul Cusick said he believes spending 12 months apart from him could be more challenging.
“I feel sad and proud because I know he is doing good stuff, but I always will miss him,” said Finegan Cusick of his dad.
Every year, thousands of families experience what the Cusick family is going through, but Capt. Simon Lewis, HSC 157 MEB Company Commander, said they never have to experience it alone.
The Sons of the American Legion hand out "cute and cuddly pups." (Cody Taylor/Spectrum News 1)
“It’s not, ‘I deploy and my family is here by themselves.’ It’s ‘I deploy and the family of every other individual in the unit is kind of that support network,’” said Lewis.
The Sons of the American Legion also attended the Yellow Ribbon event to hand out their “cute and cuddly pup.”
“While nothing can replace a mother and a father in uniform deploying halfway across the world, the Sons of the American Legion are hoping our comfort pup can soften the pains of separation,” representatives for the Sons of the American Legion group said in a press release.
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August 28, 2022 at 05:00AM
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Hundreds of soldiers gather for Yellow Ribbon event - Spectrum News 1
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