In just the 11 years since Sept. 11, 2001, close to 900,000 members of the military’s reserve and National Guard have left their civilian lives and served in active duty in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, many of them serving several tours of duty overseas. As of today, even with combat operations winding down, almost 64,000 are still activated.

This week, to help us explore the interaction between service in uniform, civilian work and how employers enable Guard and Reserve service, we speak with several guests from the Defense Department office that was created in 1972 just to handle these issues – Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR):

• Jim Rebholz, national chairman: ESGR’s history, mission and how it honors public and private employers who go the extra mile to support employees and families who serve in the Guard and Reserve.
• Maj. Eric Davis, Ombudsman: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the rights it provides to servicemembers and the responsibilities it confers on employers.
• Ron Young, director, DoD Family and Employer Programs and Policy and Sgt. Maj. Wayne Bowser, senior enlisted advisor for family and employer programs: Addressing unemployment in the reserve component, the Yellow Ribbon reintegration program and DoD’s new Hero 2 Hired jobs program.

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