The Yellow Ribbon Mentor/Intern Program provides experience in the civilian community for many of the several hundred injured service members in long-term care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It offers those service members who will be leaving the military and do not necessarily have a career planned a fresh opportunity to experience different job situations.

If a veteran does have a career path in mind we help by giving him or her local contacts and arrange internships in their chosen field. We assign them a job to perform on a volunteer basis that requires actual duties on real tasks. We designate mentors who are active or retired men and women willing to share their experience and expertise with injured service members, ultimately helping them to make a smoother transition to civilian life.

The role of the mentor is invaluable in this program. He or she will work with the participant to develop a personalized plan based on his capabilities and interests. In addition, the mentor often helps the soldier develop a resume.

Soldiers who take advantage of the YRF's program vary according to their remaining time in the recuperation process at Walter Reed. For those with only a short time remaining in the military, a mentor may simply assist in the job search, while other service members need mentors who can promise a longer time commitment. Many soldiers and marines have expressed interest in returning to college. Mentors have arranged college visits and interviews with the local universities in the Washington, D.C. area.

In the past year the Yellow Ribbon Fund has placed service members in internships involving physical therapy, sportswear sales, coaching and an architectural firm. It has enabled dozens of young men and women a new focus on what they want to do for the rest of their lives. In the words of Sgt. Dan Karchmar, USMC, "The time I spent with the architectural firm of McCartney and Associates has convinced me that this is the field I want to pursue as I complete my Marine Corps service."

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Bob Talbot, Director, Yellow Ribbon Fund Mentor/Intern Program, Sgt. Anthony Larson, U.S. Army, and Senator John Warner, (VA). Sgt. Larson spent a day at the Senate Fitness Center in April 2007.

Sgt. Dan Karchmar, USMC, talks to Jack McCartney of McCartney and Associates during his internship there.