Strong, all-volunteer military relies on employers' support

By Robert Borek Jr.

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 04, 2012

~~<p>When the U.S. Department of Defense began to anticipate the end of the draft, it established an agency to oversee a relationship that would be critical to maintaining an all-volunteer military.</p>
<p>For the past 40 years, that agency — Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) —&ensp;has developed and promoted a culture in which employers support the military service of their employees in the National Guard and Reserve. The last decade of continuous combat and historic natural disasters has tested our reliance on these service members and employers, revealing both groups' willingness to make extraordinary sacrifices for our country.</p>
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When the U.S. Department of Defense began to anticipate the end of the draft, it established an agency to oversee a relationship that would be critical to maintaining an all-volunteer military.

For the past 40 years, that agency — Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) — has developed and promoted a culture in which employers support the military service of their employees in the National Guard and Reserve. The last decade of continuous combat and historic natural disasters has tested our reliance on these service members and employers, revealing both groups' willingness to make extraordinary sacrifices for our country. Login for more...