CAJMTC hosts Mo. Boss Lift

By Robert Seyller

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind.- When employers from across Missouri stepped into the cargo compartment of the C-130 Hercules aircraft, they were starting a three-day journey to learn about the mission their employees in uniform are taking on in Balkans.

During the Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's third Kosovo Force 10 boss lift, around 40 business owners and company representatives observed and experienced pre-training around 1,000 Missouri National Guardsmen are going through

When the group arrived in Indiana, they were greeted by Maj. William Smith, of Jefferson City, who served as their liaison on the trip. Smith said that by trip's end, he wanted each employer to know how serious the training was.

Missouri Employers gather under the wing of a C-130 Hercules hauler during the Kosovo Force 10 bosslift in Indiana.

"These Soldiers are not on vacation while they are training, or are deployed," Smith said. "They have a real-life mission to accomplish and that is what they are working toward."

Any doubt about the intensity of training quickly vanished as the employers lined up to watch Guardsmen endure a surge of electricity delivered by an air taser. Later, employers watched as Guardsmen were doused with pepper spray and sent through a combat course.

EnerSys representative, Jack Moore, of Warrensburg, said that the boss lift made him miss his Army years.

"Soldiers are the most enthusiastic group of individuals you can hope for." Moore said "They never expect anything extra for doing a good job; they just work hard and jump at the chance to experience something new."

Sgt. Marcos De Jesus, instructor in non-lethal weapons, coaches Christy Carr, of West Plains based Air Evac, the proper use of the FN303 paint ball gun before she fires a round at hanging targets.

Other parts of the training were more relaxed. Each employer had the chance to shoot rubber bullets and paintballs at targets. Later, they used the Engagement Skills Trainer 2000, an electronic simulator where Soldiers use a videogame-like program to hone their marksmanship skills.

For John Craye, of Ameristar Casinos in St. Charles, the simulator was his favorite event during the trip. He also said the boss lift helped him learn more about the Guard's role in national defense.

"I always thought the National Guard helped to pad the regular Army," Craye said. "I did not realize the entire unit was composed of Guardsmen and the operation was being led by a Guardsman."

Maj. William Smith, helps Susan McNary, of the Jefferson City based Missouri Veterans Commission, fire a crowd dispersal round from the M203 grenade launcher.

Craye said he would be presenting much of what he learned about the National Guard and Americas Citizen-Soldiers during a management meeting in May.

Brig. Gen. Larry Kay, task force commander of Kosovo Force East, joined employers for dinner and fielded questions about the mission. As Kay addressed the crowd, he said one of his personal goals was to bring the Soldiers back to home better trained, better educated leaders.

Kay then said that as deputy director of the Missouri Veterans Administration he understood what many Citizen-Soldiers were leaving behind. He then pulled the American Flag from his shoulder and presented it to his own boss, Veterans Administration Director Hal Dulle.

"Kay is reflective of the young warrior spirit" Dulle said "As an employer we should consider it our duty to support our deployed Soldiers. "

Steve Vanderhoof, program support specialist for the employer support organization, told the employers that he hoped the boss lift would help convince them to work in support of deploying service members.

"We want to develop a culture of support for our service members," Vanderhoof said "When our service members stop serving before retirement 80 percent of the time it is due to a career conflict."

To learn more about supporting Missouri's Citizen-Soldiers, and the companies that employ them log-on to www.esgr.com

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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