Companies Should Plan for Departure of Guards

While members of the National Guard and military reserve are called to active duty to protect their country, the nation is protecting their day-to-day jobs. The federal government believes that dealing with the temporarily vacated posts is a small price to pay for employers.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States had an immediate impact on several local companies’ stock value, but few have yet to feel the crunch of losing regular employees to military duty for extended periods. With President George W. Bush’s decision to deploy U.S. combat forces “to a number of foreign nations,” it is likely more companies will be searching the local employment agencies for temporary help.

Some businesses are in somewhat of a wait-and-see mode. But Rogers Mayor Steve Womack said waiting could become a crucial mistake for businesses that employ reservists.

“If an all out maneuver war were to take place, tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of soldiers will be needed over a period of time,” said Womack, a former professor of military science at the University of Arkansas. “It has become painfully obvious that given the peace dividends we’ve had over the past decades as well as the reductions in force, this country is more reliant than ever before on its reserve forces.

“Men and women will be coming from everywhere — doctors’ offices, banks, police departments … the entire cross section of American life. This country is gonna have to recognize it’s going to have to do without these people for a period of time.”

The Pentagon had called about 16,000 reserves to active duty as of Sept. 26 with plans to summon as many as 35,500 reserves to help with recovery efforts in New York and the Pentagon and to bolster air defenses. Numerous Northwest Arkansas law enforcement personnel are active members in military reserves. In the Persian Gulf War a decade ago, 2,787 members of the Arkansas National Guard were called to active duty.

Womack said the only reasonable solution for businesses employing reserves is to plan ahead. He should know. As a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard, he is commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 153rd Infantry Regiment, a combat arms group that is one of the country’s 15 enhanced readiness brigades. And if troops are needed for the latest conflict/war, Womack said he stands a great chance of being called for duty.

“My standard response is that I’m a lot closer to the flag pole than I was before,” Womack said.

Womack met with city officials Sept. 25 to discuss a contingency plan for the possibility of him having to leave office in order to serve his country.

“A prudent business man and prudent employer has a plan ready to execute if there is loss of any or all of his workforce,” Womack said. “Whether it’s temp workers or other members of the staff, they should accept for an interim period of time they will have to perform double duty. If you have a good team that’s patriotic and a loyal American worker, they should gladly accept more responsibility. It’s a tremendous sacrifice on the part of the individual soldier and the business as well. Everybody, whether they are deployed or just an employee, will have a role in this.

“Their role may be to roll their sleeves up and take on the responsibilities of a deployed coworker.”

Should Womack be called upon, the plan is for senior city council member Jack McHaney to become mayor pro-tem and take over the day-to-day duties of the city.

Others May Go

Almost all reservists miss work due to either summer camp, weekend drills or specialized training schools. These absences last anywhere from a few hours to months.

Federal law protects reservists from being fired or denied certain employment benefits due to military activities interfering with their jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Veterans’ Reemployment Rights administers this law and gives advice and assistance to reservists in exercising their job rights.

Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, which employs about 68,000 people nationwide, does not have a military section on its employment applications. But company spokesman Ed Nicholson estimates between 250 and 500 Tyson employees are associated with the military.

Nicholson said Tyson has policies in place for “peace time” duties, but said the world’s largest poultry processor would make decisions during particular circumstances, such as the Persian Gulf War.

A Tyson employee wishing to remain anonymous was recalled to active duty during Operation Dessert Storm. He said the company “made sure I had everything I needed. My wife had insurance through Tyson. I was gone about six to eight months. But when I got back, I went right back to work on a regular basis. It was like I’d never left.”

In some cases, the laws (see Page 10) are subject to interpretation, but an employee can rest easy with job protection when he or she is called to military duty.

Capt. Buffy Fondren of the 188th Fighter Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard in Fort Smith said some companies are easier to deal with than others. Fondren said the Sam’s Club in Fort Smith has been particularly cooperative with its reservists employees.

“Sam’s Club has been very good at getting [its reservists] here when we need them,” Fondren said.

The National Guard will bring in reservists for two weeks each summer for a training session, giving the reservists’ employers an order telling of the dates the employees will be needed.

The 188th has 996 reserves under its wing spread as far as Russellville to the Missouri line.

Phil Merritt of Rogers is a former member of the National Guard who served in the Persian Gulf War. He was working for First Brands Corp. — now Glad Manufacturing of Clorox Corp. — and was one of nine employees at his company that was called for duty.

“[First Brands] gave us the greatest support a guy could possibly get,” Merritt said. “Our jobs were held for us and they didn’t take advantage of the situation.”

Merritt is no longer in the Reserves, saying he “couldn’t serve” under Bill Clinton as Commander in Chief. But he said he would gladly return for duty today if needed.

David Humphrey, director of investor relations at Arkansas Best Corp. in Fort Smith, said ABC “will do anything we can to help out the situation because it not only impacts the employee but indirectly the military of the United States, too.”

Matt Bodisbaugh, vice president for business development at Nabholz Construction Corp.’s Rogers division, is a former Naval officer who’s now inactive in the reserves. But he wouldn’t hesitate if called upon to serve again. He also warned business with reserves employed, particularly those in Northwest Arkansas, to plan now rather than later.

“With unemployment the way it is around here you’re not gonna run out and snatch up someone for just any position,” Bodisbaugh said. “We don’t anticipate a problem [at Nabholz] with the current conflict, but if we do have a situation the spirit of patriotism will prevail.”

Michael Singer is a physician assistant at Cardiovascular Surgical Clinic of Northwest Arkansas and a 2nd Lieutenant and medical platoon leader in the 142nd unit of Fort Smith. While he said it is too early to tell if he would be called to duty, he has no doubt the clinic would support him if and when the time comes.

“[The clinic] would be out some income, but just like the rest of the country, I wouldn’t see any problems with them supporting their employees,” Singer said.

Sense of Duty

Attorney Steve Zega is a 13-year member of the National Guard as well as a member of the Washington County Quorum Court. Should Zega be called to duty, he will get to appoint his successor to the Quorum Court. He will not release his successor’s identity until the situation arises.

Zega has a very strong relationship with members of the National Guard. They helped with the search last summer for his daughter, Haley, who was lost near the Buffalo River for 54 hours after wandering off on a hiking trail.

Womack believes anyone who is more concerned about replacing employees than the reserves’ task at hand is greatly missing the point.

“To be blunt, what’s happening in this country and overseas is much more important than what we’re doing at work,” Womack said. “Absent the abilities to answer terrorist attacks, what we do now impacts significantly on the freedom we enjoy. And that’s not apple pie stuff. Right now people are concerned about safety in their homeland. It’s been six decades since we have felt this fearful. We used to believe that as long as you were in America you were safe. But this is a different kind of terror. We’ve got people around here that are scared. That’s a freedom issue. We have to take great steps in order to establish further and protect our freedom and guarantee us of our future. We’ve got to eliminate the problem and we’ve got to eliminate it now. We’ve got remove terrorists’ threats across the globe.”

Air Force Capt. Steven Rolenc, spokesman for the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, echoed Womack’s sentiments: “We’re cocked and ready to go.”