Nov 29, 2003 - 23:11:02 CST
As National Guard and Reserve members continue on duty around the world, their employers -- from police departments to paint stores -- are putting in extra hours or hiring temporary help to fill in."I don't want to call it a burden because we're going to make it work, no matter what," Hillsboro Police Chief Ray Weber said. "The main thing is getting these people home safe."
While the exact numbers change with soldiers' status, the total reserve callup in North Dakota represents less than half a percent of the state's roughly 335,000-person work force. In small towns, however, deployments can leave a big shoes to fill.
Weber lost half of his force to the war in Iraq. That means the Hillsboro Police Department is down to just one officer for the town of about 1,600.
Instead of police duty in Hillsboro, Staff Sgt. Kris Elijah is on duty with Fargo's 142nd Engineer Battalion in Iraq, rebuilding runways and doing masonry and carpentry work.
Weber said he has hired a temporary officer to fill in while Elijah is deployed, and he has help from police in nearby Mayville and from sheriff's deputies in Traill County.
Elijah came home recently on a two-week leave and got to see his 5-month-old son for the first time.
"He got a suntan and lost some weight," Weber said. "He was more than willing to go back to work. But I couldn't make the poor guy work. And besides, he's got diaper duty."
Elijah said his job in Iraq is similar in some ways to being a policeman in Hillsboro.
"There are people who need you and want you around, and there are people who don't," he said.
Two of the six full time employees at the Sherwin-Williams Co. paint store in Bismarck are serving with North Dakota Guard units in Iraq.
Leon Rudnick came back to work at the store after the soldiers were called to active duty. He is a former store manager who left to start his own business.
He said he came back to help out the company and the country.
"Everybody can always use extra money, but I didn't do it for money," Rudnick said. "I'm doing what I can to help out."
Some temporary employees have been hired, he said.
"As soon as those guys come back, the people filling in will have to leave, and we're all OK with that," Rudnick said.
Federal law requires that employers hold jobs for returning reserve soldiers, Guard spokesman Jon Haugen said.
At the University of North Dakota, six employees have been called to active duty, he said. Two of the soldiers were from the school's police department, said Duane Czapiewski, the university police chief.
One has since returned, and one is with his unit at Fort Riley, Kan.
Czapiewski said another officer who is a Guard member may also be deployed. The campus police force has used temporary officers to help out, and other officers have filled in when needed.
"In any 24-hour operation, you can't just close the door. You've got to figure out some way to do it," Czapiewski said. "It's a crunch, but the main thing is doing what we have to do to get these guys home safe."
The North Dakota Army National Guard earlier this month announced that up to 600 more soldiers are waiting for orders that could send them to Iraq.
Members of the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion companies in Valley City, Jamestown, Bismarck, Hettinger and Mott, and the 164th Engineer Battalion from Williston and Dickinson are preparing for mobilization.
Gregory Wald, the marketing and communications manager for Job Service North Dakota, said filling positions for employers who have lost workers to military service is a priority with his agency, though in some smaller communities, it is hard to find temporary workers.
"We're doing our part to get employers up and running again," Wald said.
Job Service itself has five Guard members who have been deployed to the Middle East.
"We've been doing what a lot of employers have been doing -- just getting by without them," Wald said.
About 1,000 North Dakota Guard soldiers are deployed with the 142nd and the Bismarck-based 957th Multi-Role Bridge Company, Haugen said.
Additionally, the U.S. Army Reserve has about 60 soldiers deployed from the state, the Army said. North Dakota Air National Guard spokesman Dave Somdahl said he could not say exactly how many airmen from his branch have been activated, but it is "less than 100."
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