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Originally posted by 4386828:
Okay, how about some realism. Not withstanding the fact that the author is spinning the PAO Hyperbole, the Civilian Business Leader can expect pretty much the same class of person from the Reserve Ranks, as he/she can from the want ads. Reservists are NOT drug-tested every month (this is cost and time prohibitive), the majority of Reservists are folks who were on Active Duty but left for a variety of reasons, many because they were not up to par for the Army. I am not implying that ALL Reservists are second-class Soldiers, but they are certainly treated that way by the Active folks and being a Reservist myself, I know first-hand that there are far more losers than winners at the monthly get-togethers and all of these folks have Civilian Jobs which places their Employers over the proverbial barrel when they need to be canned. The problem is that the Reserves value each and every BODY, not person, B-O-D-Y, in the formation. Recruitment and Retention is difficult and getting rid of a dirtbag or loser or even leadership who physically abuse their soldiers is impossible. Even soldiers who abuse drugs are kept on the rolls and if they play their hands right, they get to stay in the Reserves and their Civilian Employer never hears about it. No, a Civilian Employer can only be certain that if they hire a Reservists, they are subjecting themselves to an employee for which the employer MUST have an additional person on staff, for when Uncle Sam calls, that Citizen-Soldier must report and leave the Civilian Employer to endure the manpower shortage, continue to promote the deployed person AND provide employment upon return 15 months later. This is a tall order for a business that must be profitable. But, it also impacts larger organizations, such as hospitals. The Army does not have traditional doctors and nurses on Active Duty because they can make so much more money in the civilian sector. To satisfy this shortcoming, the Army rotates Reserve Hospital Units into their daily and wartime missions. The nurse who makes $75k in the civilian sector only makes a couple hundred dollars for her weekend of Drill and maybe $35k if deployed. The doctor makes $150k as a civilian, but only $75k deployed. So why do they do it? Well, they are in such need, the Reserves ignores their weight issues and gives them hefty bonuses. And, how does this relationship with the Reserves affect the large business? A hospital can be decimated by the deployment of the local Army Reserve Hospital unit, causing them to have many more people on staff, driving up costs and reducing effectiveness during deployment.
To say that it cannot be done is not my point. To infer that Civilian Employers can be assured of a better employee is ludicrous. To think that the current Reservists represent a drug-free, physically-fit, dress-right-dress pool of potential is ignorance.