Missouri’s National Guard members have been called to active duty more than a dozen times in the last three years, sometimes with little notice. The Guard makes special efforts to ease stress in the workplace when the callup happens.
Guard members have been activated for hurricane relief twice this fall. Earlier this year some units were activated for flood relief. The callups are usually for a few days or a few weeks at a time, not the longer callups some units have faced for duty in Iraq and in Afghanistan. But callups can cause problems with the family or the workplace regardless of their length.
The Guard has a family readiness program that works with those left behind by those called up. Guard spokesman Tammy Spicer says the other program helps workers and employers meet their mutual responsibilities. She says employers have a responsibility the guard members to make sure they will have a job when they return. But she says National Guard members also have a responsibility to keep their employers updated on their status or potential status.
She says the ESGR program works daily with employers and soldiers. She says it has ombudsman to work with employers and soldiers to iron out problems caused by short-notice callups. She says Missouri employers are usually supportive when a worker is called away for Guard Duty–but sometime the Guard does have to intercede.