Military Proud
Virginia Tech Information Technology Employees(from left to right): Ron Keller, Judy Lilly, Rob Roberts.
Doing the right thing in an organization is often taken for granted. There are times, however, when doing the right thing is so widespread, so consistent, and so selfless that it merits attention. After you read this column, you will understand why doing the right thing as an employer is so important for our employees who serve in the military. Though many Virginia Tech employees currently serve in the National Guard and Reserve, featured here is the story of the military service of Ron Keller and Rob Roberts and the support they receive from their colleagues and supervisors in Communications Network Services (CNS).
Ron Keller
Ron is a network engineer in CNS. He is also currently a Command Sergeant Major for the Army Training Site Command at Camp Dawson in Kingwood, West Virginia, and has served in the National Guard for 19 years. At the time of his deployment overseas, he was a Battalion Communications NCO assigned to the Army National Guard in Bluefield, West Virginia.
When he was called up for active duty from the Fall of 2003 to the Spring of 2005, he had been married less than a year. One day Ron and his wife were enjoying their 8 month old son. Within 24 hours, he would be headed out of Blacksburg to Bluefield, then to Fort Bragg, and ultimately to Iraq - away from his family and Virginia Tech job for 18 months. With the Iraq war at its height, the one day deployment notification gave him no time to attend to his personal life. He would spend his son’s first birthday at Fort Bragg and his son’s second birthday in Mandali, Iraq, 12 miles west of the border with Iran.
Robert Roberts
Rob is still active in the Army Reserves as a Drill Sergeant, with 22 years of military service between active duty, the Tennessee Army National Guard based in Bristol, Tennessee, and now the Reserves. For his employment in CNS at Virginia Tech, he serves as a Web Designer and manager of Web Support Services with the Blacksburg Electronic Village. At the time of his deployment, Rob served with the Tennessee Army National Guard. He left his pregnant wife behind on Father’s Day, 2004.
Rob trained at Camp Shelby in Mississippi (with a four day leave trip to be with his wife for the birth of their first child) for five months, stayed in Kuwait for a few weeks, and arrived in Baghdad, Iraq where he spent a year. He served as shop foreman for a vehicle maintenance team, working long hours to insure the equipment used by his fellow soldiers was safe. He celebrated New Year’s Eve, 2004 quite a bit differently than most Americans, unless you were there with him on the banks of the Tigris River looking for enemy activity.
Employer Responsibilities
From the little you have learned about Ron and Rob, you now know they must juggle responsibilities to their Virginia Tech job, to their family, and to their military service – in an order of priority that may change day to day. No attempt has been made to sensationalize their experiences – they would tell you that their experience is no different than other soldiers who serve in the Guard and Reserve. There are many others like them at Virginia Tech. Their story is important because it provides a window into the world of an employee soldier devoted to a love of country, family, and job in a way that most Virginia Tech employees cannot imagine.
In case we forget our rights and responsibilities as an employer to our military men and women, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) spells them out (see this site for a full explanation of employer responsibilities, http://esgr.org/userra.asp ). What makes this story special, and what should make the Virginia Tech community so proud, is how Ron and Rob’s colleagues supported them in their service. They reached out to them and supported them in a way that far exceeded the letter of the law.
The Support of Colleagues
Judy Lilly is the Associate Vice President for Network Infrastructure and Services in the Division of Information Technology. Rob and Ron ultimately report up to Judy; they were so pleased with the support they received from their colleagues that they nominated Judy for the Patriot Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). They wanted to nominate all their colleagues for their support, but they nominated Judy because she established such a supportive environment for their military service.
Judy did not think she did anything special. What she did was simply the right thing to do, and she pointed that out to Ron and Rob, “I told them it is my honor to do whatever we can do.” As Ron observed, “Doing the right thing is not always the case with employers today.” Rob echoed that sentiment, saying that, “I got the impression Judy and our team supported us because they wanted to, not because they had to. The Patriot Award was a good way to let everyone know how much we appreciated them.”
Ron and Rob’s colleagues shift work assignments to pick up additional duties, always demonstrating a caring and commitment for Ron and Rob which extends far beyond their professional lives. As Ron puts it, “When I get a set of orders, the only response I get is what can I do for you and your family when you are gone.” Rob is grateful to his colleagues because, “It means a lot when you are getting ready to go overseas that your employer is behind you.”
Military Proud
Many employers are trying to market themselves as “military friendly” in an effort to attract talented retired military personnel to their workforce. It seems to me Virginia Tech is much more than military friendly. We are military proud. Proud of our Corps of Cadets and three ROTC programs, proud of our seven alumni members who have earned the Medal of Honor, proud of our over 100 graduates who have been promoted to General and Flag Officer rank and all our alumni who have served in the military, and proud of our employees who are retired from the military or served in our Armed Forces. Thanks to people like Ron and Rob, and our other employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve, Virginia Tech employees have an opportunity to demonstrate their pride in the military by supporting their colleagues as they serve our nation.
About Hal Irvin
Hal Irvin has been Virginia Tech's associate vice president for human resources since March 2008.
Before coming to Virginia Tech, Hal worked for 14 years at Georgia Tech. In his last assignment, he served as executive director of organizational development – reporting to the executive vice president for administration and finance and was responsible for employee learning, change management, and internal consulting services. He played a central role in Georgia Tech’s successful efforts to improve administrative services and transform its service culture.