Taking your boss to work

Helicopters loaded with local employers will head out April 21 for Fort Huachuca, an Army base 70 miles southeast of Tucson, Ariz., where they'll witness what their employee citizen-soldiers do when called for National Guard or Reserve duty.

The military calls it Bosslift, and officials select 30 employers each year to go on the field exercise. The idea behind the program, sponsored by the Nevada Committee for Employer Support of the National Guard and Reserve, is to bolster support for the nearly 7,000 citizen-soldiers in Nevada.

The training missions often include wartime scenarios and last about three days. This month's Bosslift will take place at an Army intelligence training center.

Gaining employer support is crucial, Manny Escobedo, the committee's coordinator, said.

Because reservists and guardsmen serve a minimum of two days a month and two weeks a year, some employers are reluctant to hire citizen-soldiers, he said. Some will often screen job candidates to see if they have a military obligation.

"And now they're doing anything from 50 to 60 days a year because of peace-keeping missions," Escobedo said.

While it's illegal to discriminate against citizen-soldiers in hiring, it's hard to prove, he added.

"There are job conflicts," Ted Marshall, the committee's chairman, said. "That's understandable. We try to work it out so conflict to them is a minimum."

Because of military downsizing, 54 percent of the military is composed of weekend warriors, he added.

"The people who are flying refugees out of Albania are your neighbors and mine," Marshall said. "They're accountants and engineers."

There are seven branches of Reserve forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard Reserves and Army and Air National Guard. The Reserves' primary mission is national defense. The National Guards are national defense and state defense, such as relief during hurricanes, floods and tornados. Reservists usually serve a six-year obligation.

When seeking a job, applicants are not required to tell potential employers that they are members of the Guard or Reserve. But once employed, law requires Guard members and reservists to immediately notify employers as soon as they learn of their assignment.

"They're putting in a lot more time than weekends now," Marshall said. "It's that involved learning the technology."

Bosslift was created in 1977 in Wyoming to drive home the importance of the Guards and Reserves in national defense. It came during a time of anti-military sentiment after the Vietnam War and media coverage of the Reserves as a minivacation, Escobedo said.

"It's a necessity," Marshall said. "People have to realize it's national defense. They have to have the time off for training."

The first program at Camp Guernsey in Wyoming was a local practice of Army National Guard, Escobedo said. The Wyoming committee sent a report to the Defense Department and in 1978, Bosslift became an official program.

At that time, the program began in Nevada.

"In years past, we've had an excellent response," Marshall said. "This year, for some reason, it's a little tough to get going."

In fact, last year Bosslift was canceled because of the lack of response.

"There's a lot of apathy out there. They don't like to see the nation committed in foreign escapades."

The benefits of employing a reservist outweigh the short-term loss of the employee, Marshall said.

"You have a better employee on your hands when you have a guardsmen and reservist," he said. "They're disciplined, motivated and in good physical condition."

The Nevada Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is still seeking local employers for this month's event.

"It's a tremendous experience. It gives them a lot of understanding they would not have had otherwise," Marshall said.

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