It bothers me that almost half of U.S. National Guard and reservists have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. West Point graduate Bill McDowell, East Wenatchee, said our country has never fought a war using so many soldiers from our Reserve Component. “Some people have too much time devoted to reserves over the years as a portion of their retirement and can’t afford to say to hell with it, despite severe hardships. I sure want to help those service men and women.”
     Bill is one of 4,500 volunteers in the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a volunteer agency in the Department of Defense whose mission is: gain and maintain employer support for reserve service, increase awareness of the law, and resolve conflict through mediation.
     Bill received “the best training I’ve ever had” to resolve conflicts. A Westside county cited an attorney general’s opinion to compute its fire chief’s vacation time without his 21-day military leave. Bill explained newer federal regulations superceded that opinion. “We all agreed there should be another look at this. I was thrilled.”
     He even let it cut into his tennis time.
     Rich Cronin, Wenatchee, garners employer support and advises employees. He’s a former Naval aircraft maintenance officer honored to be a “mustang” for taking the rare route from enlisted swabby to officer. He said, “When a company is small and a guy goes, it really hurts, but they have to understand and comply, and the employee has to comply with it too.”
     Employers are not allowed to ask if an applicant is in the reserve and must re-employ soldiers to their exact positions. Employees must give notice of their deployment, serve honorably and return to work within ESGR guidelines.
     Reserve training and discipline helps Rich convince employers, such as Top Food & Drug and Costco to sign and post a Statement of Support (SOS) for the Reserve Component. .
     Employees can nominate exceptionally supportive employers for the “My Boss is a Patriot” award. Last May Neal Fechner of Merchant Patrol Security in Wenatchee received the award after Guard member Zachary Muhly, Cashmere, nominated him.
Rich rounded up donations for a picnic with families before the Wenatchee-based  81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team deployed last year. He said, “People gave me so much money I turned over $450 in phone cards to guards. The town was very, very generous.”
     He helps families, such as a young wife needing job prospects for her returning husband whose electrical contractor had gone out of business.
     Recently Rich and Jim Sewell, Area Chair for ESGR, attended a “Freedom Salute” honoring the Army National Guard based in Yakima. Sewell said, “This particular unit transported fuel, food and other supplies throughout their year-long deployment in Iraq, traveling over one million miles without loss of life or serious injury.”
     Rich added that, unlike the 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team trained for combat, “Those military folks guarding convoys were all basically support people (cooks, logistics specialists, supply, etc.) who were retrained to do something they were never originally intended to do (like combat). Amazing, wonderful group of men and women - people to be proud of, very proud of.”
     Those men and women inspire Bill, Rich and Jim. Those three inspire me, especially when we demand so much of our reservists.