CNMI joins celebration of ESGR’s 40th anniversary

Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos signed yesterday a proclamation recognizing the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve’s 40th anniversary, thanking the Guam-CNMI Committee of ESGR for their outstanding service and civilian employers for the valuable support they provide to service member employees.

“With the government as the major employer of Guards and Reserves in the CNMI, we do give special recognition to all those who participate in all the programs of ESGR. We fully support the program,” said Inos after the proclamation signing at the governor’s conference room on Capital Hill.

An agency under the U.S. Department of Defense, ESGR was established on June 22, 1972 by then President Richard Nixon in preparation for the eventual elimination of the military draft, said state chair David J. Sablan of the Guam-CNMI Committee.

But for people to go into “volunteer military,” Sablan noted that there is a need to ensure that certain rights and privileges are protected, giving birth to the lead agency promoting support and cooperation between employers and Guards and Reservists.

Sablan said ESGR serves as the bridge that links employers to understanding the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act or USERRA, the law that protects these rights and privileges of National Guard and Reserve employees as well as fosters “a culture of support” for the military.

“They’re out there protecting our freedoms and our way of life,” said Sablan. “We have to honor them for that because they’re special people willing to put their lives in the line for us, if necessary.”

Sablan disclosed that the volunteer force in the military has now reached about 3.4 million, 48 percent or nearly half of whom are in the Guard and Reserve and are called “citizen warriors” for leading dual lives as members of the communities and the nation’s armed forces.

In the CNMI, Sablan said there are some 127 Reservists and Guards, more than 40 percent of whom work for the government.

‘Be prepared’

Sablan revealed yesterday that Guard and Reserve components of the military have been training heavily for the past year and a half following President Barack Obama’s request for contingents to be deployed by next year.

According to Sablan, some 500 or 600 men and women from the region will be deployed between February and March 2013 for a period of “anywhere from six months to a year”-the biggest contingent that would leave the CNMI and Guam to serve under the president’s order.

“Be prepared because it will happen,” said Sablan, saying that ESGR has been proactive in explaining to Guam government officials since most of the men and women will come from that jurisdiction.

Although there will be fewer CNMI sons and daughters who will be part of next year’s contingent, Sablan still urged Inos to get the Commonwealth prepared for this eventuality, as some of these Guards and Reservists hold critical positions such as teachers, firefighters, and police officers.

During the proclamation signing, Sablan presented Inos with the Guam-CNMI Committee of ESGR’s “challenge coin” bearing the flags of both island jurisdictions and the U.S., seals of the seven services, and ESGR’s vision statement.

As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, the Guam-CNMI Committee of ESGR will host today an Employment Assistance Workshop from 9am to 2pm and the Employer Initiative Symposium from 11:30am to 1:30pm, both at Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan.

For more information, call Maj. Josephine M.P. Blas, program administrator, at (671) 483-0324 or (671/315) 735-0456.