More Guard, Reserve troops return to job problems

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Increasing numbers of National Guard and Reserve troops who have returned from war in Iraq and Afghanistan are encountering new battles with their civilian employers at home. Jobs were eliminated, benefits reduced and promotions forgotten. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Labor Department reports receiving greater numbers of complaints under a 1994 law designed to give Guard and Reserve troops their old jobs back, or provide them with equivalent positions. Benefits and raises must be protected, as if the serviceman or servicewoman had never left. Some soldiers, however, are finding the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act can't protect them.

- Larry Gill couldn't return as a police officer in Thomasville, Ala., because a grenade injured a foot, making it impossible for him to chase criminals or duck bullets.
- Jerry Chambers, of Oberlin, Kan., discovered budget cuts had eliminated his job as a substance abuse prevention consultant.
- Ron Vander Wal, of Pollock, S.D., was originally told his job as a customer service representative was eliminated. He was hired after filing a civil lawsuit seeking damages.
http://www.fresnobee.com/24hour/nation/story/1568955p-9166105c.html



-- IRAQ WAR LEADS TO GREATEST ACTIVATION OF RESERVES SINCE WORLD WAR II

Reservists Make Up Growing Percentage of Active-Duty Troops. The military operations in Iraq are relying on reserves to a degree not seen since WWII. In the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, reservists and National Guardsmen made up about 25 percent of troops in Iraq. Of the 141,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, the National Guard contributes about 40,000. But an estimated 96,000 have been mobilized - called to full-time service - to serve or prepare for duty there or in Afghanistan, and a further 53,000 are on alert. About 40,000 Army Reservists are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Overall, 131,000 Army Guard and Reserve soldiers are on active duty in the United States and overseas, in most cases for 15 to 18 months. Full-time soldiers' foreign deployments typically are one year. (USA Today, 7/20/04; Wash Post, 7/1/04; San Francisco Chronicle, 5/9/04; AP, 5/12/04; AP, 5/17/04)

-- RESERVISTS STRETCHED THIN DUE TO BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S FAILURE TO PLAN

Hagel Said Overstretched Guard and Reserves Is Indication of Failure To Plan. "'We're stretched as far as we can. You need more people,' said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who has sponsored efforts to add 10,000 active-duty troops, which the Pentagon opposes. Reservists 'didn't sign up for Iraqi duty for an undetermined amount of time. This should have been anticipated by the administration,' Hagel said." (Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 10/22/03)

General Pace: Need Plan To Reduce Number of Reservists. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Peter Pace: "We do need to take a very hard look at the reserve/active mix, and how much we're going to rely on Reserves in the future, because Reserves should be just that, reserves. And they're great Americans, and they're willing to do what we need them to do, but we need to not continually go to that well if we can design ourselves better for the future." (Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, 4/10/03)

-- BUSH ADMINISTRATION FAILS TO RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM

Bush Administration Fails to See a Problem. In August 2004, the Labor Department said increasing complaints from reservists and Guardsmen was not a grave problem. "'Any increase in the number of complaints is a concern to us,' said Fred Juarbe Jr., assistant secretary of labor for veterans employment and training. 'At the same time, we're pleased by the fact that the increase in complaints is not at the level that would have been expected.'" Regarding the impact of Bush's extension order issued in the fall of 2003, Wayne Spruell, principal director for manpower and personnel in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, said at the time, "We're not aware that it is causing any additional problems or concerns." (AP, 8/15/04; Times-Picayune, 9/21/03)

-- JOB COMPLAINTS ARE WIDESPREAD

Bush Administration's Extension Order Contributed to Loss of Jobs. In 2003, government officials said such problems were likely to worsen because Bush has ordered extended tours of duty for 20,000 personnel serving in Iraq and elsewhere. The Pentagon's Employers Support of the Guard and Reserves committee, known as ESGR, was receiving 20 complaints per month from reservists and Guard members in Louisiana. As of September 2003, the Labor Department had received nearly 3,200 job-related complaints from returning Guard and Reserve soldiers since 9-11; that number is now nearing 4,000. (AP, 3/25/04, 8/15/04; Times- Picayune, 9/21/03)

o Reservists From Around the Country Seeking Help. "We're getting phone calls from Texas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, everywhere. They're all looking for help, and we don't know what to say," said Eric Schuller, a retired guardsman who works for the state of Illinois, handling calls from soldiers with work and other financial problems. "Everyone's got a complaint; everyone needs help." (LA Times, 5/12/04)

o Ohio Reservist Denied Promotion He Was Promised Prior to Activation. Lt. Brandon Ratliff spent nine months in Afghanistan. He did his duty and came home to a promotion he had been promised at the Columbus Health Department. Department officials gave him the job just before he left. By law, employers must take back reservists returning from military service, with few exceptions. But while Ratliff was gone, the health department took his promotion and $4,000 raise away. "I didn't think that I'd have to fight over there and come back and fight these guys," he said. Ratliff committed suicide shortly after his return. The AP reported, "Ratliff was executive officer of the Army Reserve's 909th Forward Surgical Team. The unit provides medical care on the front lines, and Ratliff's duties included retrieving wounded soldiers from the battlefield. He was decorated six times." (Miami Herald, 3/19/04; Columbus Dispatch, 3/15/04)

o Wounded Oregon Soldier Returns to Find He Is Denied His Job. A soldier wounded in a mortar attack in Iraq says he was denied his former job as a security guard when he returned home. Dana Beaudine, a corporal in the Oregon National Guard, worked as a guard at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle before he was called up. He said since returning from the war, he spent the past six months fighting to get his job back. (AP, 3/25/04)

o Florida Guard Troops Return Home Seeking Employment. The St. Petersburg Times reported that, "Staff Sgt. Richard Lynch and Spc. Howell Horan found themselves unemployed when they returned from combat duty in Iraq with the Florida National Guard. Both say their job prospects look dim... The siding warehouse where Lynch worked went out of business while he was deployed, and Horan had been laid off as a telephone and computer cable installer just before being called up." Some Guardsmen believe that employers do not want to take a chance on hiring an employee who may be called to serve overseas. (St. Pete Times, 6/11/04)

o Alabama Soldier Loses Job Due To Injury In Iraq. "Larry Gill couldn't return as a police officer in Thomasville, Ala., because a grenade injured a foot, making it impossible for him to chase criminals or duck bullets... Gill, the former Alabama police officer with an injured leg, had to give up a career that began in 1992 and followed in the footsteps of his father and brother.'My biggest concern is loss of income,' he said." (AP, 8/15/04)

o Kansas Soldier Loses Job At Home Due To Worsening Economic Condition of States. "Jerry Chambers, of Oberlin, Kan., discovered budget cuts had eliminated his job as a substance abuse prevention consultant." (AP, 8/15/04)

-- RESERVISTS LOSE THEIR SMALL BUSINESSES DUE TO CALL-UPS

Soldiers Suffer Financial Loss >From Increased Duty. The LA Times reported, "Many soldiers have drained their savings to support their families while they are gone. Some have lost their homes. Others have lost their jobs at small businesses, which say they can't afford to keep the positions open - even though they're breaking the law. And numerous small-business owners have shut down their companies or have had to declare bankruptcy." (LA Times, 5/12/04)

o Ohio Reservist Loses Business Due to Deployment. "Ted Valentini, an officer with the Army Reserve, lost his business that makes molds for plastics and electronics after a second tour of duty sent him to Iraq. The assets of the Beavercreek, Ohio, firm were sold off last year." (LA Times, 5/12/04)

North Carolina Reservist Forced to Close Business Due to Deployment. "Danny Lewis, a chief warrant officer in the Marine Corps Reserve who is stationed in Baghdad, faced an equally tough situation. Unable to find a replacement for himself, Lewis closed his landscaping business in Moorseville, N.C., and laid off his two employees soon after he was deployed." (LA Times, 5/12/04)
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=105-08152004

[NEOBuckeye]

1. A shame Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz never had these troubles

Imagine a young Dick Cheney back from Vietnam sans two legs and an arm (think Max Cleland). Think he'd have ever made it as CEO of Halliburton? Much less the Vice President of the US?

[Name removed]

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