Barton Buechner Comments

Since September 11 2001, Americans have been called to service in many ways to ensure the safety of our homeland and protect our way of life.

On November 11, we traditionally honor our men and women who serve their country, today and throughout our nation’s history. Some have given their lives; far more have made personal sacrifices in countless ways. For those whose military service is in the National Guard and Reserve, those sacrifices are shared by their employers and their families.

Throughout our history, but especially today, many of our nation’s business leaders have understood the importance standing behind our men and women who have committed to serve in the National Guard and Reserve. In times of peace, these "Citizen-Soldiers" bring discipline, leadership, and willingness to serve to their civilian occupations. When called to respond to a threat, they do what needs to be done for our country.

The Employers United for a Stronger America Foundation (EUSA) was formed to help promote the active role of America’s business leaders in ensuring the continued success of the Reserve Components of our armed forces. Through a strong reserve force, the United States can maintain a smaller standing military while retaining the flexibility of expanding on short notice. It also ensures that there are men and women with military training and response capability in all parts of our society, contributing to national readiness.

EUSA has set goals to support volunteer efforts to educate employers on the National Guard and Reserve, reinforcing the work done for the past 31 years by the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) a Department of Defense organization. According to ____, there are a lot of things that a government agency cannot do, and EUSA hopes to fill in some of the gaps. "When we go out to talk to business leaders, we have to speak their language - present things in terms they understand, and in many cases lead or organize events and programs that a government agency just can’t do."

On November 14th 2003, ESGR will honor five of the nation’s most supportive employers through presentation of the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards. There will also be public signings of "Statements of Support" in statehouses across America, organized by some of ESGR’s 4,000 volunteers.

During World War II, all Americans were asked to make some sacrifices to support the troops. Gas was rationed, citizens were asked to conserve consumer products, to buy War bonds, and otherwise contribute to the effort.

Many citizens today wonder what they can do to stand behind the troops who are serving their country in places like Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Recycling outdated and unwanted cellular phones is something anyone can do, for little effort and limited if any financial impact. Recycling old cell phones is also environmentally responsible, and puts the phones back into use in developing nations or reclaims valuable components and materials.

In New York, the effort is being led by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In Southern California, the San Diego Firefighters are spearheading the drive. Companies like Citigroup have gotten their employees involved with an in-house collection program, and encourage their employees to participate.

There are an estimated 200 million outdated and out of service cellular phones in the United States alone. EUSA has a goal of reclaiming a million phones by Veterans Day 2003. Funds raised will support "Welcome Home" programs for our deployed Guard and Reserve troops, and provide them with benefit cards that provide discounts on goods and services, offered by patriotic business owners across the country.

One of the benefits is a deep discount in rail travel on AMTRAK. This is not the first time the railroads in this country have stood behind our troops. After the Civil War, the railroads issued "Homeward Bound" passes to returning war veterans. Most used the passes to return home, others used them to travel westward, looking for a better life in the gold fields of California.

After World War II, The GI Bill provided returning veterans with higher education opportunities. The country was rewarded with the best educated, dynamic workforce in the world, leading to unprecedented prosperity and productivity. For this and other reasons, the "American GI" was selected as the TIME magazine Man of the Century. The impact of this modest investment in veterans is profound, and continues to be felt today, even as most members of the "Greatest Generation" have gone into retirement.

Today, business and academic leaders are also realizing that taking care of our service members is the right thing to do. Although those who serve in the Reserve components do not have the same ongoing benefits as their active service counterparts, they have significant challenges after service. Companies who employ reservist are stepping in to help in large numbers, making up the difference in salary during service, extending health care and other benefits to reservists and their families, and ensuring academic credit and lost time is not a barrier to completing educational pursuits.

The Veterans Advantage Card program is another way to extend benefits to service members. The card provide access to discounts on goods and services offered by participating businesses. Many of these business have also been recognized as outstanding employers of Nation al Guard and Reserve members. The ReCellular "Recycle and Reward" program helps provide demobilizing troops with Veterans Advantage discount cards at no cost to them.