Aug. 26, 2005— Helping to provide mediation services between deployed troops and their at-home employers, the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve guarantee that soldiers serving overseas will have a job when they return home.
In fact, representatives from the ESGR are soliciting the help of the entire local community in these efforts, simply by providing emotional support and/or other services to the 100 National Guardsmen set to take off for the Middle East in September.
"Our job is to make sure that our guardsmen are taken care of by their employers while they're away," Bob Hollingsworth, ESGR executive director, said. "By law, they are guaranteed a position when they get back—either the one they held before deployment or something better."
Hollingsworth joined former Sen. Emmitt Hansen at a small, informal press conference on Friday to explain how the community can get more involved in the mediation process. In addition to sending e-mails and care packages overseas, family members and friends can also aid in the job department by filling in for troops while they are away.
Hollingsworth told the story of a small fire unit in California, where members from the community pitched in to cover the duties of firemen deployed overseas. "We're looking for volunteers to do these kind of things," Hollingsworth said. "It's important to help our troops as much as possible … we don't want them to be worried or distracted by these problems when they're away from home."
"However, we don't have very many problems with employers when it comes to our guardsmen going overseas," Hansen added. "Most issues just simply arise from miscommunication and are subsequently solved through talking."
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