Volunteers stand guard in the Quad-Cities for those at war

ESGR keeps the home fires burning for troops, families

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By John Willard | Monday, December 17, 2007 |

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have posed new challenges for the U.S. military’s reserve components as well as for employers who hire “citizen soldiers.”

With 1.2 million Americans serving in the National Guard and Reserve, nearly half of the U.S, military force, and reserve components taking on a greater share of the fighting, their employers are marching off to a host of issues relating to their employees in uniform. Promotions, vacation time, time off for training are just a few.

In Scott County and elsewhere across Iowa, an organization known as the Iowa Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, or ESGR, is helping employers and the citizen soldiers deal with the complexities of the changing mission of the reserve components, a change brought on in part by the absence of the draft and the creation of an all-volunteer armed force.

ESGR provides education, recognizes employers who support their citizen soldiers and connects military leaders and employers in solving problems that might arise because of employee participation in the National Guard and Reserve.

The committee recently launched a push to encourage employers to sign statements of support in which they pledge to follow the provisions of federal regulations pertaining to employment rights of members of the Guard and Reserve. Last month, in a first-ever state-wide series of group signings, 175 employers signed pledges of support to employees who are members of the Guard and Reserve, including 14 in the area that includes Scott County. Iowa has about 13,000 people serving in the Guard and Reserve.

That brings the total number of pledges signed this year in the state to about 500.

By signing the support statements, employers acknowledge that the National Guard and Reserve are essential to the strength of the nation and that the volunteers who participate deserve the support of everyone.

Employers pledge not to deny employment because of service and not to limit job and career opportunities. They also pledge to grant employees leaves of absence for military service, consistent with existing laws, without sacrifice of vacation and agree to make their pledges known through the organization.

Allan Enright, the committee’s executive director, said that Iowa employers have shown excellent support of their employees in uniform. In fact, he said, they often exceed the requirements of the law by performing such extras as helping with household chores while an employee is on active duty and sending “care packages,” which is an especially welcome gesture at this holiday time.

“Our companies are doing a fantastic job,” he said.

Guardsmen and Reservists no longer are a force held as strategic backup, he said, but in fact comprise an operational force that stands in full partnership with their full-time counterparts. The changing role of the Guard and Reserve means that employers are assuming a significant role in the defense of the nation.

“Employers are as much a part of the nation’s defense as the military members they employ,” he said.

Scott County employers reflect the same spirit of support toward their citizen soldiers as do other employers across the state, said Harry Cockrell, the volunteer area 9 chairman of the Iowa Committee for ESGR. In addition to Scott County, his area includes Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar, Jones and Jackson counties.

Cockrell, a Vietnam War veteran, said 94 employers in area 9 have signed ESGR statements of support this year. “I think employers go out of their way to do the right thing,” he said.

In cases where problems between employers and employees serving in the Guard or Reserve arise, the ESGR has available trained ombudsmen who can provide information, training and informal mediation services relating to compliance with the federal Uniformed Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

Cockrell cites the case of an employee of an eastern Iowa manufacturer who was injured during his weekend training, only to be fired when he reported the incident to his supervisor the following Monday. The soldier notified his commanding officer, who called the ESGR. An ESGR ombudsman was brought in, contacted the human resources director of the company and the problem was solved.

ESGR also assists employers on issues relating to military service through education, awards and more.

Programs include civilian employer orientations, or “bosslifts,’’ in which employers and supervisors are transported to military training sites where they observe first hand National Guard and Reserve members on duty. Employers who support membership in the reserve components are eligible for a host of awards sponsored by the ESGR.

The ESGRs was founded in 1972 as an agency of the Department of Defense. The organization is made up of more than 5,000 volunteer business, civic, academic and military leaders who serve on ESGR committees.

For more information on the Iowa Committee for Employee Support of the Guards and Reserve, visit the organizations Web site at www.iowaesgr.org.

(This story appears in December’s Quad-City Business Journal.)

The business desk can be contacted at newsroom@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.