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Dealing with work, war
Employers prepare for exit of reservists amid U.S. military buildup
Mary Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal Staff
Bill Welch sent a memo to his company Sept. 13, saying he appreciated his colleagues' support of the role he'll play in the U.S. response to terrorism, known as Operation Enduring Freedom.
In his regular workday life, Welch is president and managing partner of commercial real estate firm Colliers Oxford Commercial Inc. in Austin.
When he's not wearing his Colliers hat, Welch dons a military uniform and is called by his military title, "Lieutenant Colonel." During this crisis, Lt. Col. Welch is poised to fill in as director of security forces at the Air Education and Training Command at San Antonio's Randolph Air Force Base.
All across Central Austin, hundreds of people like Welch are gearing up to leave the world of work for the world of war. In some cases, the departures will leave holes in business operations.
The Pentagon has called 14,000 of National Guardsmen and reservists to active duty, many of whom specialize in communications, intelligence, security, mortuary affairs and military police support. The Pentagon is authorized to call up as many as 50,000 National Guardsmen and reservists.
Reservists "have given their time at the expense of family, employers, and personal self-interest to prepare for the day when we would be called to serve our defense," Welch's memo states.
"They will willingly step up and do the job they were trained to do. Some are supply clerks, cooks and bus drivers. Others will fly aircraft, carry guns and engage in combat. And still others will serve, like me, in the relative safety of headquarters writing plans and ensuring troops are properly trained and supplied. But all share equally the commitment to serve to the best of our ability." Like Welch, Doug Smith also has received the call to serve.
Smith is project manager for Austin software company InfoGlide Corp. and a commander in the Naval Reserves. Smith has previous experience as a nuclear submarine officer. He isn't sure what his new assignment will be.
Whenever Welch and Smith are finished with their military assignments, their regular jobs will be waiting for them, thanks to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
That act states "any individual may be absent from work for military duty and retain re-employment rights for five years." A number of other measures meant to help reservists are outlined in the act, which can be found at the U.S. Labor Department's Web site, (http://www.dol.gov).
Although employers such as InfoGlide, Dell Computer Corp. and the Austin Police Department all say they're fully behind the 1994 law, they also acknowledge the voids they're forced to fill.
Investment banker Ladd Pattillo, president of Austin-based D. Ladd Pattillo and Associates Inc., recently retired from the Army Reserves after 33 years. He says small companies or ones that lose key executives can be "devastated by a callup."
Welch, who has been in the reserves for 20 years, says part of his business strategy has been to team up with people he knows he can count on when military obligations pull him in a different direction.
But at InfoGlide, President and CEO Mark Shultz says the company definitely will feel Smith's departure.
"In this particular case, we have a significant management challenge. The software that our company makes is in extreme demand right now and is used for fraud detection and alias identification. Every government organization's all over us for product, and we're trying to get it to them," Shultz says.
"I have demand that is greater than I have ever seen, and my key business guy is going to pack his sea bags and go on a trip. Beyond that, there is the personal part of having him gone."
Paul Flaningan, a spokesman for the Austin Police Department, says the department employs 20 to 25 reservists. He says the department will manage by having nonpatrol officers fill in so all shifts remain covered.
APD also offers reservists the option of receiving pay for any vacation or sick leave they might have accrued. In some cases, a person's military pay is less than what he or she makes as a civilian employee.
"Some employers do choose to help their active reservists financially," says Army veteran Oliver Bell, president of Round Rock-based E-Team Communications Inc., a human resources and labor relations consulting firm. "Some employers pay the difference between what the reservists make while on active duty and their average paychecks when working full time."
Other employers, such as Austin's American Constructors Inc., examine the situation on a case-by-case basis.
Bill Heine, president of American Constructors, served 33 years as both an active-duty and reserve member of the Navy. Heine is aware of at least three of his employees who could be called for active duty.
Although companies might be strained by the military buildup, employers acknowledge having employees called to active duty can help unify a company.
Companies "know they are participating in the effort of creating security and defense for the nation," Welch says. "There's a certain element of pride associated with it. Workers' sense of pride is to rally around the cause at these times." Pattillo also thinks times like these help co-workers understand why all reservists must take off two weeks from work every year for training.
In good times, people refer to reservists as "weekend warriors," he says. But in times of crisis, they're referred to as "twice the citizen."
