IU employees leave jobs for overseas deployment

In addition to seeing hundreds of students travel overseas to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, IU has also seen several employees leave to fulfill their patriotic duties. Currently, five employees are serving on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Indiana National Guard. \nBut their deeds must go unrecognized, as their names cannot be released because of privacy laws, said Capt. Lisa Kopczynski, state public affairs officer for the Indiana National Guard.\nThe University, like any other employer, is pleased to have employees who serve in the military, said Larry MacIntyre, IU director of media relations. He said these men and women make tremendous sacrifices for the country through their services. \n"We are very proud of them," he said.\nIn an open letter to America's employers on Sept. 11, 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said, "Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense has mobilized more than 295,000 reservists and national guardsmen in response to the ongoing global war on terrorism ... this would not have been possible without the strong backing of America's employers."\nMacIntyre, a retired reservist, was deployed twice during Operation Desert Storm and once to Bosnia in 1996. He said being away from the family is as hard for the person deployed as it is for the family itself. \n"But you get to handle difficult situations, develop confidence," he said. \nThough, MacIntyre added, being away from a job for a year may not be easy because of the break. \n"We at the University recognize that, and we will welcome each and every one of them back with open arms," he said. \nIndiana National Guard Cpl. John Perzo served in Iraq from January 2003 to March 2004 and said it took some time for him to his job once he came back. He currently works with the Monroe County Bank and said it was easy for him because little had changed at the bank.\n"Also, I was keeping up on things, and my boss and I talked quite a bit," Perzo said.\nCompanies across the nation often seek out those with former military experience, said Lt. Col. Michael Scudder, a professor for the Department of Military Science. \n"As a commissioned officer myself, I can tell you that company head hunters seek out junior military officers," he said.\nScudder said employers may want to hire individuals with prior military service because of qualities including leadership training, security clearances, physical strength, the ability to multi-task, and having a clean, drug-free background.\nScudder also said military officers get specific training in military occupational specialty, many of whom are highly sought by civilian employers. They also "continuously attend different levels of schooling as the rank goes up."\nLeanne Walls, an operating engineer with Ragle Construction whose son served in Iraq a few months ago, said most of the youngsters choose the military as a career because of the adventure and pay.\n"Different people have different reasons," she said.\nShe too looked into a career with the military about 20 years ago. \n"Employers would like them because they show dependability, trainability and are usually very hard workers," Walls said. "My hat is off to these young men and women."\n-- Contact staff writer Hina Alam at halam@indiana.edu.