20061206 What is ESGR?

What is ESGR?

December 6th, 2006

ESGR stands for Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve.

When you are about to do business with a company or organization in Maryland, you want to take into consideration whether or not that business or organization has signed the Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve.

In a previous post, the support of Sears for our men and women in uniform has been brought to light.

A fair question immediately comes to mind; what is the statement and what does it entail? Click here for that information.

Go to the ESGR web site and look for the section that says “SUPPORTIVE EMPLOYERS.” Use the pull down menu and check for businesses and organizations in Maryland that have signed the Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve.

A quick review of the list indicates that Carroll County Government (with the exception of the Carroll Co. bureau of highways?), the City of Westminster and other municipalities have not signed the Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve; although several businesses have signed the statement.

The list indicates that the following businesses and organizations have signed the statement:

CARROLL COUNTY BUREAU OF HIGHWAYS, Westminster; CARROLL INDEPENDENT FUEL COMPANY; DEPT OF JUVENILE SERVICES ST OF MD, Westminster; HOME DEPOT, Westminster; LOWES HOME IMPROVEMENT STORES, Westminster; TERMINIX INTERNATIONAL, Westminster; JOS. A. BANK CLOTHIERS, INC., Hampstead; CTGROUP ENVIR, Sykesville; MARTINS' PRODUCTS, Sykesville; SPRINGFIELD STATE HOSPITAL, Sykesville; TECHNOLOGY LLC, Mount Airy;

Of course, considering the support that the City of Westminster and Carroll County Government and the greater Carroll County community have traditional given; and currently give our men and women in uniform, all bets are that they are simply not aware of the statement…

Hopefully, some leaders in Carroll County and municipal government may take this opportunity to look into this visible and public display of support and investigate signing the statement.

A quick review of the list indicates that a number of county and municipal governments in Maryland have signed the statement…

Getting back to the original question; what is ESGR?

The ESGR web site says:

ABOUT ESGR

What is Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve?

Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense organization. It is a staff group within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OASD/RA), which is in itself a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The nation's Reserve components (referring to the total of all National Guard members and Reserve forces from all branches of the military) comprise approximately 46 percent of our total available military manpower. The current National Defense Strategy indicates that the National Guard and Reserve will be full partners in the fully integrated Total Force. Our Reserve forces will spend more time away from the workplace defending the nation, supporting a demanding operations tempo and training to maintain their mission readiness.

In this environment, civilian employers play a critical role in the defense of the nation by complying with existing employment laws protecting the rights of workers who serve in the Reserve component.

ESGR was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve component members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment. It is the lead DoD organization for this mission under DoD Directive 1250.1.

Read more here.

Hopefully you agree that local government and businesses visibly and publicly showing their support for our men and women in uniform is a good thing. Why not contact your employer, your favorite business or store, or your local government elected officials today and call to their attention this program.

Thanks.

Kevin