Photo By 1st Sgt. John Etheridge | Lee Perry, a lieutenant with the Utah Highway Patrol, sits in a mine resistant ambush...... read more read more
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Twenty-seven civilian employers and supervisors participated in a Boss Lift, Oct. 22-24, 2015, and were flown from the Air National Guard Base in Salt Lake City to visit their employee-soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas, serving with the 116th Engineer Company of the Utah National Guard as they prepare for a future deployment to the Middle East.
The Boss Lift was sponsored by the Utah Chapter of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves. It is a program designed to build and maintain employer support for the guard and reserves by showing employers the training that their employee-soldiers go through when called to active duty.
“Approximately 48 percent of the American armed forces are guardsmen or reservists,” said retired Army Col. Kim Watts, the programs coordinator for the Utah chapter of ESGR. “Building employer support through the Boss Lifts helps to make our military much stronger.”
The bosses were treated to a full schedule of military training to participate in and watch that started on the flight down in the KC-135 aircraft. During the flight, the employers observed while Airmen with the 191st Air Refueling Squadron from the Utah Air Guard conducted a refueling operation with a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft in the skies above the Utah desert.
After their arrival on Thursday, the events included a welcome brief by Capt. Ryan Johnson, the commander of the 116th Engineers, and a tour of the Fort Bliss Museum. The employers also dined with the leaders of the Utah National Guard, the 116th Engineers, and the 5th Armored Brigade, from Fort Bliss, who hosted and escorted the bosses during the visit.
The group spent all day Saturday with their employee-soldiers and the 116th Engineers. The Engineers had several events scheduled to show the employers what kind of training they have been doing and what their mission will be on their deployment.
“We are trying to give the employers an idea of what we do in a typical day. Our main mission is basically to move large quantities of dirt,” said 1st Lt. Nathan Griffin, the executive officer of the 116th.
Some of the activities included a mission brief around a sand table by the 116th commander, a static display of military rifles and machine guns, and a tour of the soldiers living quarters.
One of the highlights of the day included a vehicle recovery demonstration, where soldiers from the 116th maintenance platoon extracted one of their combat vehicles that was submerged in about four feet of mud and water.
Lee Perry, a lieutenant with the Utah highway Patrol was impressed to see his employee-soldier, Sgt. Jerry Hardy, a Utah State Trooper who also works as a supply specialist with the 116th maintenance company, work as part of the team that extracted the vehicle from the mud.
“I teased him about the fact that now I know he has the capability of doing that, he’ll be the guy I call when we have cars go in the river.” said Lee.
Down the road from the vehicle recovery demonstration, soldiers from the 116th taught their employers how to drive and use the unit’s heavy equipment. Under guidance from the Soldiers, the bosses all took turns driving backhoes and excavators around a quarry that is used for training.
Jeff Newman of Newman Construction watched as his employee, 1st Sgt. Jose Sudweeks, the 116th’s first sergeant who is also a heavy equipment operator as a civilian, coordinated his soldiers during the demonstrations and was impressed by his leadership abilities.
“I can see that he has a big job training all these guys and taking them to a foreign country and then bring them all back. I’m confident he can do it.” said Newman.
Newman also said that he was very impressed with the teamwork that the soldiers displayed and how tidy all the work areas and vehicles were.
The day’s events and activities offered the bosses a chance to see their employees in a different light as they worked in their military roles.
“I had no idea what he did in the military,” said Jason Walker a shop manager for Teraflex, about his employee-soldier Spc. Corbin Black a signal specialist with the 116th. “I thought he just went and played in the desert.”
Walker added that he and his company has always been very supportive if their reservist and guard employees, but that the Boss Lift gave him a better idea of how the military worked.
“Everyone here has been super polite and it’s been great. It’s been fun. It has definitely changed my perception of the military,” said Walker about the Boss Lift.
Saturday morning, some of the employers shared their feelings about how the Boss Lift had aided them in seeing the importance of their employee-soldier’s military roles.
“As I was sitting there talking to my soldier, I realized that it’s tough being away from someone you care about for just for a couple days, and these guys and gals are gone for a year. It makes you think about that sacrifice and service,” said Lee. “That’s when it dawned on me how important it is for us as employers to make sure they know we care about them and that we want them back. And more importantly I need to make sure his family knows that he is an important part of our department and that they will be taken care of.”
After a farewell breakfast Saturday morning the bosses were flown back to Salt Lake City.
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2015 07:48 |
| Story ID: | 180945 |
| Location: | SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, US |
| Hometown: | SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, US |
| Web Views: | 382 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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