It bothers me that almost half of U.S. National Guard and reservists have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. West Point graduate Bill McDowell, East Wenatchee, said our country has never fought a war using so many soldiers from our Reserve Component. “Some people have too much time devoted to reserves over the years as a portion of their retirement and can’t afford to say to hell with it, despite severe hardships. I sure want to help those service men and women.”   Bill is one of 4,500 volunteers in the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a volunteer agency in the Department of Defense whose mission is: gain and maintain employer support for reserve service, increase awareness of the law, and resolve conflict through mediation.
 

To read more, go to Clear Skies Common Sense by Jim Russell