FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – Between the machine gun simulator and the ride on a Missouri National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Joni Light couldn’t remember when she had so much fun.
Light, a human relations executive with the Missouri Department of Corrections in Bonne Terre was one of about a dozen employers of National Guardsmen and military Reservists on a tour of Fort Leonard Wood Monday and Tuesday as part of a “Boss Lift” event sponsored by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
The ESGR informs and educates service members and their civilian employers about their rights and responsibilities governed by the Uniformed Services and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
Boss Lift events are designed to give civilian employers of Guardsmen and Reservists a hands-on taste of military life.
“We want these folks to see the other side of what their military employee had to go through to get to where they are today,” explained Lt. Col. Craig Chandler, deputy assistant commandant of the military police school, who also served as the tour guide. “We want them to see the training that we employ and the discipline that we instill.”
“These employers need to understand what their service member-employee is doing when they’re on drill,” added Annette Jennings, an ESGR program support technician in Jefferson City. “Both the National Guard and the Reserves have evolved into an operational force that supports the active duty military so they get called up a lot. We want these employers to value that service by seeing what they do when training.”
To that end, the Boss Lift gave employers a chance to shoot an M-16 rifle and an M-240 machine gun, operate a 54,000 pound excavator, witness military occupational training and the highlight of the event; fly on a Black Hawk helicopter.
For Light and others in the group, the tour was an eye-opening experience.
“It’s awesome to be able to see what our military actually does,” said Light. “Now I have something to talk about with our military employees and a greater respect for what they do. I’m amazed at the state of the art equipment and training here. It’s fantastic. It’s not just a case of handing someone a gun and teaching them how to shoot. It’s training for real life, for a career after the military.”
“This has changed my view of the military,” added Debra Ernst, of Fenton, quality director for the Red Cross National Testing Laboratory in St. Louis. “I can see that quality training takes place here and I have a whole new respect for how disciplined you have to be. I am genuinely impressed.”
Equally impressed were Matt Reams and Doug Wickham, of Sierra Bullets, based in Sedalia. The company not only employs members of the Guard and Reserve, but also makes ammunition for the military.
“The amount of simulator training is amazing,” said Wickham. “The gun systems, the heavy equipment and flight simulators were really interesting.”
“The training that they go through here from the ground up and the responsibilities that they have on a day to day basis is surprising,” Reams said. “I can see how this training can give you a jump start to a career once you leave the service.”
As members of the tour group work with National Guardsmen and military reservists, seeing the type of training their co-workers have undergone seemed to drive home a key ESGR theme; that hiring members of the Guard and Reserve pays dividends.
“I love our military employees and veterans in the Department of Corrections because they are all about getting the job done and getting it done correctly,” said Light. “They know how to follow orders, they are used to taking direction and they make fantastic leaders.”
That comes as no surprise to Chandler, who sees the transformation of civilians to soldiers every day.
“With a National Guard Soldier what you get is a disciplined, physically fit, mentally agile employee who can think on his own,” he said.
For more information about the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve or to become an employer-member, call 573-638-9500, Ext. 7730, or visit www.esgr.mil .
For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites: www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard; www.blog.moguard.com
For more information about this release, please contact UPAR Bill Phelan at 314-416-6639 or cell, 314-556-5428 or e-mail bill.phelan@us.army.mil .
By Bill Phelan
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL
Pictured: Joni Light, a human relations executive for the Missouri Department of Corrections, (foreground) clearly enjoys her turn at the heavy equipment simulator at Fort Leonard Wood. Light and other employers on a tour sponsored by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, were given the chance to “operate” a 54,000 pound excavator. (Bill Phelan photo)