Relationships Between Reservists, Employers Need Help

The Department of Defense should do more to ensure that the 650,000 reservists who mobilized since the war on terror began on Sept. 11, 2001, maintain good relationships with the employers they left behind, according to an Aug. 15 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).   “Maintaining employers’ continued support for their reservist employees will be critical if DoD is to retain experienced reservists in these times of longer and more frequent deployments,” the report states. Though laws that protect reservists already exist, the GAO states the Defense Department should adopt better plans to inform reservists of their responsibilities under those laws, and give employers better notification about deployments.