Family Focus: Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

By Maj. Scott Hodges, chief, Air Force Legal Assistance Program

Since 9/11, Reserve and National Guard servicemembers saw a dramatic increase in their mobilization and deployment. As citizen-warriors, these Guard and Reserve military members have other jobs to worry about, their civilian jobs. So what happens to those civilian jobs after members gets back from a six-month or yearlong deployment?

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is a federal statute that protects the jobs of servicemembers and veterans. Specifically, USERRA requires private employers to put individuals back into their civilian jobs after they return from a mobilization, regardless of whether the mobilization was voluntary or involuntary. In fact, former employers must also give servicemembers the benefits and seniority they would have received if they had not been activated.
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National Guard Soldier Receives Soldier’s Medal

Army Maj. Nathlon Jackson receives the Soldier's Medal from Gen. Craig McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, during a ceremony at the Army Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Va., Aug. 18, 2010. Jackson received the award for her bravery on Jan. 11, 2010, when she entered a burning home and rescued Shirley Rollins, who had been overcome by smoke from the fire. The Soldier's Medal is the Army's highest non-combat medal. (Photo by Sgt. Darron Salzer, National Guard Bureau)

By Petty Officer Second Class William Selby

U.S. Army Maj. Nathlon Jackson was faced with a situation that required her to go above and beyond her duties in the Army National Guard.

It was a situation in which the average person may not have reacted the way she did.

Jackson, a section chief for the Army Guard’s enlisted policy branch, was walking from the readiness center to her car when she saw smoke coming from a house.

“As I walked over to the house, I could smell that something was burning, rather than just it being smoke from a pot burning in the kitchen,” she said.

“I opened the mail slot with my hand and started to yell inside ‘hello, hello’ to see if anyone was home.”

One of the neighbors quickly ran over to Jackson and provided her a key to the house and told her that someone was in the house.

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National Guard to the SW Border: Getting the Facts Right

Jack Harrison director, National Guard Bureau Public Affairs and Strategic Communications. Photo courtesy of the National Guard.

Jack Harrison is the director, National Guard Bureau Public Affairs and Strategic Communications. He is responsible for all public affairs activities related to the office, ensuring effective communications with myriad audiences and media at all levels.

In May of this year, the president directed the deployment of up to 1,200 members of the National Guard to the four Southwest border states (CA, AZ, NM, Texas). His decision was based on a request from the Department of Homeland Security for support from the Department of Defense, which is designed to enable the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hire some 1,000 new agents.

DoD ordered the deployment in early July and a formal announcement was made by the CBP commissioner, ICE director and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau on July 19. Among other things, this announcement indicated the Guard would begin deploying to the Southwest border on August 1.

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Episode #44: Weekly AFPS News Roundup for July 22

In the AFPS podcast for July 22: At talks in South Korea, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a series of joint military exercises called Invincible Spirit; also in South Korea, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen met with U.S. servicemembers at Camp Red Cloud; in Afghanistan an international aid conference covered plans to hand over more responsibility for security to the Afghan government; a NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan immersion English language program called Thunder Lab is helping prepare pilots for the Afghan air force; in Washington, U.S. Forces, Iraq, Commander Army Gen. Ray Odierno updated reporters on the troop drawdown and progress being made by Iraqi security forces; a White House plan to crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking includes a temporary deployment of the National Guard to the southwest border; the top officer for U.S. Africa Command, Army Gen. Kip Ward explained the stabilizing impact of the AFRICOM mission; testimony on Capitol Hill highlighted efforts to prevent suicide among servicemembers and vets by removing the stigma of seeking mental health care; and details about the Oct. 25 launch of a revised MYCAA program that aims to help military spouses train for portable careers.

To listen to the podcast, click here.

Family Focus: Guard Families Find Way Through Deployments

By Paula Sumrall, National Guard Bureau Office of Family Programs

One of the greatest challenges that our National Guard families face is how to remain resilient and upbeat during the multiple deployments that have occurred since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.Those who are physically located near active component military installations have resources readily available. Medical facilities, commissaries, and other support agencies are accessible to our Guard families, but many opt to maintain their primarily civilian lifestyle by not accessing these venues.

Many of our National Guard families do not consider themselves to be “military families” according to a survey conducted several years ago. A prevalent attitude is that family activities should remain as close to normal as possible during the spouse’s deployment. Children should maintain the same school, after-school activity schedule. Church and sports activities should remain the same. Household chore responsibilities should remain the same. Because these schedules are already in place and the family members are comfortable with them, why change?

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