ISTANBUL, Turkey — How do you persuade your civilian boss to support you when you want to take nine months off for a deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq?
This was one of the questions put to more than 40 young reserve officers participating in the Young Reserve Officers Workshop (YROW – "why-row"), an important component of the 2008 Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, (CIOR) Summer Congress.
"Enabling NATO Operations through effective Employer Support"—the themefor this year’s congress—was the topic of discussion for young reserve officers from more than 30 countries as they brainstormed and strategized making their military and civilian careers complement one another.
The participants came to Istanbul to share their experiences with the hope of finding some solutions. Many of the young reservists brought firsthand knowledge of what it’s like not to have the support of civilian employers for military training and deployments. Through the workshop, they learn and draw information and ideas from reservists who have more employer support. YROW participants discussed what works and what doesn’t, but every country has different rules and regulations.
As NATO’s role in the world develops, there is increased use of reserve forces in multi-national operations. YROW offers young reserve officers a unique opportunity to develop and learn from working with their allies.
Second-Lieutenant Patricia Barbisch, a reservist and aerospace engineer with the US Air Force and an engineer in her civilian life, feels her civilian employer, Lockheed Martin, understands her deployment needs better than most employers because it holds several military contracts. “Many of my bosses and co-workers served in the military as well, and understand what it is like to hold both military and civilian careers,” she says. However, 2Lt Barbisch realized not all employers are as understanding as hers, and was excited about working with other reservists to come up with more cost-effective solutions for companies that employ reservists.
“With the operation tempo of many of our troops over the last year,” says YROW chair Lieutenant Adam Slonecki, a reserve officer with the Royal Navy, "many of these young reservists have deployed or will be deployed to places like Iraq and can provide valuable information.” Aside from working to improve employer support, Lt Slonecki sees another benefit to the workshop. “I see junior officer development," he says, "like meeting international officers and engaging with and understanding how their armed forces operate.” Keeping in mind that, for many, this will not be the last time these officers will be working alongside international colleagues, he adds, "Many may be in a hostile environment with officers from other countries, and this will help them quickly identify how these officers work, so why not learn this in a safe environment like YROW.”
The workshop also helps young officers develop and improve their communications skills. “I’ve just had 44 young officers tell a three-star general exactly what their worries were,” says Lt Slonecki. The reserve officers raised issues the general was not aware of because his own officers had not informed him. “That doesn’t normally happen, Lt Slonecki says. “This was a full-time officer who saw the benefits of this YROW workshop.”
Having young officers with operational experience attend YROW benefits everyone. “A few years ago, we had a ranger just back from Iraq take part in a YROW exercise. An Army general watched the young ranger in action and approached him, saying he was too over the top with his actions,” says Lt Slonecki. “The ranger said, ‘no I wasn’t…as brigade commander this is what I had to do to ensure the safety of my men’. So, for a 23-year-old ranger to say this, he [the general] got to see the benefits of YROW and the experience reserve officers bring to the workshop.”
It is important to select the right people to participate in YROW and, with operational tempo high within many reserve units, selection can be tough. The participants have to be 30 or younger and at the rank of captain or lower. “Every nation has its own selection policy,” Lt Slonecki says. “The maximum number of times a reservist can do YROW is twice.”
Once all recommendations and information on key employer-support questions have been completed and collected by the young officers, the outgoing president receives an outline that will be included with the rest of the congress reports and presented to the military committee for review.
“This is an opportunity," says Lt Slonecki, "for senior officers to see what policies and suggestions the YROW complied, and use them in the future.”
Author: Cheryl MacLeod, Maple Leaf Magazine, 6 August 08
