Glenn F. Welling, Jr.

Mr. Welling joined the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program in January 2010. He is responsible for all matters regarding the Program's activities that support the National Guard and Reserve throughout the deployment cycle.

Mr. Welling began his professional career in 1990 as an environmental scientist with SCS Engineers in Cincinnati, Ohio. From 1995 through 2009, Mr. Welling was a faculty member with The Ohio State University's Department of Extension in the field of community and economic development. He led numerous government agencies, not-for-profit boards and community organizations in succession planning, strategic visioning, fund development and community engagement. He also led legislative efforts between the University and members of the Ohio House and Senate and represented the University's Legislative Affairs office in legislative briefings for U.S. House of Representatives and Senate members and staff.

Mr. Welling enlisted in the United States Navy in 1979 and after four years of active duty service transferred to the Navy Reserve where he continues his 31 years of military service. He began his career as an Electronic Warfare Operator aboard the P-3 Orion aircraft where he accumulated nearly 5,000 flight hours over a 26-year period of time in both active and reserve squadrons. Achieving the highest enlisted rank of Command Master Chief, Mr. Welling has served as the Command Master Chief for Maritime Expeditionary Squadron 9 at Naval Station Everett, Washington and as Command Master Chief for Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion Ramadi II at Camp Bucca and Camp Taji, Iraq. In addition to his operational experience, Mr. Welling served a three-year term as a member of the Secretary of the Navy's National Naval Reserve Policy Board. He also serves as the senior Faculty Advisor at the Senior Enlisted Academy in Newport, Rhode Island.

Mr. Welling's formal education includes a Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy (ABD) from the University of Cincinnati. His military education includes graduating from the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy as the academic honor graduate. He has been recognized by The Ohio State University with the State Achievement Award for Community Development and the Distinguished Community Leadership Award from the Ohio Association of Community Leadership. His military decorations include The Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (4), Navy Achievement Medal and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. He is married to the former Marie Silva from Ewa Beach, Hawaii and they have three sons and a daughter.

Colonel Melinda L. Carignan

Colonel Melinda L. Carignan is the USAFR Liaison, DoD Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, the Pentagon, Washington D.C. She advises, manages, coordinates, and assists the AFR YRRP interests at the DoD level. She represents the Air Force Reserve on a joint team that provides policy guidance, education, support and outreach services to Reserve Component and National Guard service members and their families throughout the deployment cycle. She interprets Air Force Reserve Command inputs to the YRRP reporting and forecasting tool to consolidate a joint quarterly report capturing unit data on past and future scheduled events, incorporating lessons learned, suggestions, and best practices. She also assists in developing training aids and briefing materials from the best programs across the Service components.

Colonel Carignan received her commission in 1983 upon graduating from Officer Training School. Her first assignment was as mobility operations officer at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, followed by Vehicle Maintenance Officer then Plans and Programs Officer. The colonel completed a one-year remote tour to Comiso, Sicily where she was Vehicle Management Officer, and was handpicked to be Convoy Commander transporting Ground Launch Cruise Missiles into the country. Upon her return she transferred to the Air Force Reserve and later became an Air Reserve Technician (ART) at the group / wing / numbered Air Force (NAF) level. She has served as a Personnel Officer, Executive Support Officer, Headquarters Section Commander, Logistics Plans and Programs Officer, NAF Executive Officer, Deputy Commander for the 610th Regional Support Group, and the Director, Reserve Senior Officer Management Office as an AGR (Active Guard Reserve). In her previous AGR assignment she was the Director of the AFR Chief's Action Group.

Colonel Carignan received a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education from Oklahoma State University. She also attended the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB in Alabama, Air Command and Staff College, Undergraduate Space and Missile Training at Vandenberg AFB in California, Air War College and the Air Force Institute of Technology, Protocol Fundamentals Course at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio.

Lieutenant Colonel Bradley T. Lanto

Lieutenant Colonel Lanto graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps on August 16, 1991.

From October 1991 to April 1992, Lieutenant Colonel Lanto was assigned to Alpha Company, The Basic School (TBS), in Quantico, Virginia, for Marine Officer training. After completing TBS, he was transferred to Pensacola, FL, to attend the Aircraft Maintenance Officer (AMO) School.

Second Lieutenant Lanto was transferred to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futemna, Okinawa, where he served as Power Plants Officer for Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS) 36. He was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant in August 1993, and subsequently transferred to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (HMM-263), Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 29, MCAS New River, NC, where he served as the squadron's Maintenance/Material Control Officer (MMCO). First Lieutenant Lanto transferred to MALS-29 in August 1994, where he served as the Power Plants Officer and Airframes Officer. He participated in WTI 1-95 where he was assigned as the Quality Assurance Officer.

First Lieutenant Lanto resigned his regular commission on April 1, 1995, and moved into the Marine Reserves and the Individual Augmentee (IMA) Program, where he served as the Reserve Maintenance/Material Control Officer with Station Operations and Engineering Squadron (SOES), MCAS Cherry Point. He was promoted to Captain in May 1995 and attended the Reserve Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) at Quantico, Virginia. He graduated Reserve AWS in July 1997.

On November 17, 2001, Major Lanto was activated under Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and assigned as the Assistant Aircraft Maintenance Officer for Marine Transport Squadron One (VMR-1), MCAS Cherry Point. In June 2002, he was selected by the Officer Retention Board to be brought back on active duty and was reassigned to Second Marine Aircraft Wing, Aviation Logistics Department (ALD), at MCAS Cherry Point. While there, he performed the duties of the Aviation Plans and Future Operations Officer until July 2004.

In July 2004, Major Lanto was assigned as the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the MV-22 Fleet Introduction Team (FIT) at MCAS New River, NC, operationally controlled by the Aviation Logistics Support Branch (ASL), Headquarters, Marine Corps. During this tour, he completed the Command and Staff College, Non-Resident Course, in 2007. Major Lanto held the MV-22 FIT OIC billet until December 31, 2007, at which time he transferred back to the Marine Corps Reserves and the IMA Program at MCAS Cherry Point, NC. He served as a Reserve Aircraft Maintenance Officer with VMR-1 and was promoted to his present rank in May 2008.

From May 2008 through August 2011, Lieutenant Colonel Lanto served with VMR-1, until he received Active Duty for Operational Support, Contingency Orders, on October 1, 2011, as the Marine Liaison Officer (LNO) for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs, in Washington, DC.

Lieutenant Colonel Lanto's personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Select Marine Corps Reserve Medal. He is married to the former MaryBeth Wolbert of Havelock, NC. Lieutenant Colonel Lanto and his wife reside in Emerald Isle, NC, with their son, Zac (age 12), and daughter, Savannah (age 6).

Captain James R. Custer

Hailing from Wisconsin and Rhode Island, Captain Jim Custer worked for the General Electric Company prior to receiving his Navy commission through Aviation Officer Candidate School. Upon receiving Navy "Wings of Gold," his performance as a student naval flight officer was recognized with the Alden C. Markey Memorial trophy.

Captain Custer's operational tours included: Patrol Squadron ELEVEN (VP-11), Patrol Squadron NINE FOUR (VP-94), Patrol Squadron NINE TWO (VP-92); Officer-in-Charge, Patrol Squadron NINE FOUR (VP-94); commanding officer, Patrol Squadron SIX SIX (VP-66). His shore assignments included: Instructor duty, Fleet Replacement Squadron THREE ONE (VP-31); Reserve Patrol Wing, Atlantic; Naval Air Force Reserve, Naval Reserve Force, and the Navy staff overseeing strategy and policy of family programs affecting 65,000 Navy reservists.

Captain Custer has a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, a Masters of Science Degree in Foreign Affairs from the U.S. Army War College. He also completed a post-graduate fellowship in foreign politics and international relations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

An honorary Chief Petty Officer and only the fifth Navy officer to be recognized at the Navy Senior Enlisted Academy as an honorary graduate, Captain Custer has been awarded over 30 personal, unit, and campaign decorations and medals. Captain Custer is married to the former Julie Green of Ephraim, Utah, a school teacher and the daughter of a WWII Navy veteran. They are raising 15 year-old twin sons.

Lieutenant Colonel Wilfredo Garcia

Army Reserve Liaison

Lieutenant Colonel Wilfredo Garcia is the U.S. Army Reserve Liaison for the DoD Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Pentagon, Washington D.C. His responsibilities are to advise, manage, coordinate, and assist the Army Reserve at the DoD level. He represents the Army Reserve on a Joint team that provides policy guidance, education, support, and outreach services to Reserve Component and National Guard Service Members and their Families throughout the deployment cycle.

Lieutenant Colonel Garcia enlisted into the Regular Army in 1981 and in 1987 received his commission from the University of Louisville ROTC Program. His first assignment was the Executive Officer for C Company, Reception Battalion, 100th Division (Tng) in Louisville, Kentucky and a year later, he became the Aide-de-Camp to the 100th Division Assistant Division Commander. In 1990 he moved to Puerto Rico where he was assigned as an Audit Officer for the Office of Internal Review, a Management Analysis Officer for the Resource Management Directorate and as the Administrative Support Officer for the Information Management Directorate, U.S. Army Reserve Forces Command, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. In 1993 he entered the Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) Program assigned to the 63rd Army Reserve Command in Los Alamitos, California, where he was the senior AGR and Administrative Support Officer for the Information Management Directorate. In 1996, he PCSd to the 65th Army Reserve Command in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, where he was assigned as the Personnel Staff Officer for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel until 1999 where he later was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as the Chief, Full-Time Management Support Branch for Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Operations Command. In 2002 he was reassigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Forces Command with duty in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, as the Mobilization and Plans Officer for the Directorate for Plans, Training and Mobilization. In 2003, he became the Deputy Inspector General for the 65th Regional Readiness Command and later the Command Inspector General for the 1st Mission Support Command. In 2008 he returned to Fort Bragg where he became the Chief, Reserve Personnel Division and Deputy Reserve Advisor to the Commander, U.S. Army Special Operations Command. In 2010 he was assigned as the Chief of Staff for Joint Psychological Operations Task Force, Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar until his selection to attend Resident Senior Service College at Fort McNair, Washington D.C. In June 2011 he assumed his current position.

Lieutenant Colonel Garcia graduated from McKendree College where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Business from Webster University. Lieutenant Colonel Garcia is married to the former Martha Guadalupe Rohena from Bronx, New York, and they have two daughters, Jennifer and Juliana.

Commander Karl S. Leonard

Commander Leonard, the son of a career Navy Senior Chief, was born in Rota, Spain and enjoyed the life as a military dependant. He is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master of Science degree. He is also a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy, and Senior Management Institute for Police, Suffolk University, Boston.

Commander Leonard enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1985 and later graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1990. Commander Leonard's most recent assignment was Commanding Officer of Port Security Unit 309 in Ohio. Prior to that he served with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon where he was an Action Officer in the Strategic Plans and Policies division. In August 2005, he reported to Fifth District for a year of active duty where he helped the District transition through vertical alignment and served as the District's first Planning and Force Readiness Division Chief after it was stood up.

His previous reserve assignments as a Commissioned Officer include Executive Officer, Operations Officer, Security Division Officer, and Boats Division Officer at PSU 305, Watch Officer in the Operations Department (N3), Harbor Defense Command Unit 205, and Watch Officer for Marine Safety Office Hampton Roads.

Most notable in his military career were Commander Leonard's active duty tours. He served as Commander, Task Unit (CTU) UAE, 56.5.1 in Jebel Ali, Deputy Commander Task Group (CTG) 56.5 in Kuwait, and Deputy Planning Officer at PFO New Orleans following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He deployed to Alaska, in 1989 as part of the clean-up efforts following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. While assigned to PSU 305, Commander Leonard served as Executive Officer in Rota, Spain, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, as Operations Officer during Operation Enduring Freedom, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and again as Operations Officer during Operations Guarding Liberty and Noble Eagle in New York City where he directly supervised over 80 personnel comprising three major war fighting elements providing waterside and landside antiterrorism/force protection at Ground Zero following the attacks of 9/11.

Commander Leonard's military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Coast Guard Commendation Medals, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Department of Transportation 9-11 Medal, Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon, various unit and team awards, and service and campaign ribbons. He also earned the Port Security Insignia.

Commander Leonard and his wife Karen reside in Chesterfield, VA with their daughters Alexandra, Conor and Lauren. Commander Leonard has two older daughters and son-in-laws who reside in New York, Ashley & Andrew Knoell, and Megan & Joseph Henderson, parents of Commander Leonard's two grandchildren Jayden (age 4) and Kyler (age 2).

Jeanette Mendy

Jeanette Mendy is a Veterans Affairs (V A) Health Systems Specialist and is currently assigned as the V A liaison to the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program.  She has extensive knowledge of V A benefits and services, as well as vast experience and expertise in employment of veterans with disabilities.

Ms. Mendy began her V A career in 1996 at the St. Petersburg, Florida V A Regional Office and has held several positions including Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Employment Specialist, and Claims Examiner. In 2005, she transferred to the Department of the Army to serve as the first V A liaison to the Army Wounded Warrior Program. Ms. Mendy returned to V A in 2007 as the Executive Assistant for the V A Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service in Washington, DC.

A veteran of the US Army, Ms. Mendy served in Germany, Korea, Honduras, and Kentucky. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of South Florida, American University, and Stetson University. A native of the Bronx, New York, Ms. Mendy currently resides in Arlington, Virginia.