LINCOLN ­ The top job at the Nebraska Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is in new hands.
 
Major General (retired) Walter Zink assumed the Nebraska ESGR field committee chairmanship, a volunteer position, from Lieutenant General (Nebraska retired) Roger Lempke.
 
Zink lives in Lincoln where the state¹s ESGR office and its three-member paid staff are located. ESGR assembles and supports a network of volunteers who in turn work with members of the military¹s reserve components on the one hand, and their civilian employers on the other, to the mutual benefit of both.
 
Zink was sworn in Oct. 1 in a ceremony at Washington, D.C. Lempke, the former adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, is now Sen. Mike Johanns¹ director of military affairs. Those new duties required him to leave his post as Nebraska ESGR field chair.
 
Gen. Zink¹s assignments have taken him to the Balkans, Honduras, the Sinai, Kuwait and Iraq. He holds a bachelor¹s degree in education from Nebraska Wesleyan and a doctorate with distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law.
 
During the 2009 ESGR Annual Training Conference and Awards Banquet in York, Zink said, ³I feel passionate about our men and women in uniform. I have agreed to take the state chair ‹ in fact I¹m honored to do so. We¹re into the heavy lifting time,² he said, noting, ³The war in Iraq and Afghanistan has now lasted longer than World War II.²
 
Of the guard and reserve soldiers who today make up half of America¹s armed forces, he said, ³It¹s the insurance agent who leaves his office or the body shop with one employee that allows him to go² who are standing up for America. ³It is incumbent on us to facilitate that interface with the employers because our employers are amazing. I¹m excited about doing this.
I¹m excited with what we¹ve done.²
 
Lempke said, ³I will continue to be active in ESGR, but not as chairman.² He said, ³The first time a reserve model was used (in war) it worked. ESGR is a big part of that. It has been a very humbling experience to serve as your chairman,² he told the gathered Nebraska ESGR Committee members.
 
ESGR volunteers provide free education, consultation and if necessary mediation for employers of Guard and Reserve personnel. Please contact Executive Director William Nelson at 402-309-7105 or email william.nelson1@us.army.mil for more information on ESGR Employer Outreach Programs and volunteer opportunities.