It's not like the engineers planned it this way or anything.

And it might seem a little obvious.

But it's an interesting fact, just the same: An F-16 moves faster than Wally Keller.

Now, Keller's not the fastest guy in the world. But he's got good lateral movement. So he was surprised to have been so outmatched by the jet.

Keller was riding in a KC-135 air tanker last month with two other men from Bismarck. Out one of the windows, just off the tanker's wing, was the F-16. As soon as the fighter dipped its wing, Keller ran to the opposite side of the cabin. The F-16 was already there, just off the other wing.

"I couldn't believe how fast it moved," Keller said. "It was a neat thing to see."

Keller is CEO of Jobbers Moving & Storage. He was flown out to Pennsylvania with Mark Olson, vice president of Trucks of Bismarck, and Bob Kuntz, the buildings and grounds supervisor at Bismarck State College.

The three all were winners of the Patriotic Employer award, given by a Department of Defense committee called Employer Support of Guard and Reserve. They were three of 30 North Dakota employers honored for going above and beyond the call of duty after they temporarily lost employees to service in the National Guard or Army Reserve.

Each employer was nominated for the award by their employee or employees who were called to active duty. They were flown from North Dakota to the Willow Grove Naval Air Station last month to go on a refueling mission. The trip was called Operation Boss Lift, an ESGR program that's been going on for several years.

"It shows activated guardsmen and reservists performing their military duties, and gives employers a better feeling of 'Hey, when my employee is gone (for training) or mobilization, they're not off on a boondoggle'," said Vern Fetch, state ESGR coordinator. "They're not out for fun and games, they're out for training."

Employers who get to go on Operation Boss Lift probably already know those things, however. For them, the trip is a reward for the extra care they've shown their employees.

Employers are required by law to reinstate soldiers at the same pay, benefits and job status they had when they left. But many go beyond that.

Keller delivered freight, drove a truck, scheduled local crews and loaded and unloaded trucks - all in addition to his duties as CEO - while Aaron Eide was in Iraq with the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion. He kept Eide's wife and daughter in the loop with small gestures, such as making sure they were invited to the company Christmas party. When Eide returned, Jobbers had a picnic for him.

"As a small business, you just try to do whatever you can to make your employees feel as much at home as you can," Keller said. "What they're doing is great for the country."

Olson said everyone at Trucks of Bismarck picked up extra shifts while his employee, Brent Kraft, was gone. Kraft is a member of Bismarck's 957th Multi-Role Bridge Company.

"In a small business, your employees are so important, they become like family," Olson said. "We do everything we can do to retain them for life."

That included storing Kraft's car in one of the company garages, and making sure it had a new battery and a full tank of gas when he got back from Iraq.

Fetch said there are a number of things employers do that go above and beyond the letter of the law. One that really sticks out is covering differential pay - paying the difference between an employee's military salary and what they make in their civilian job. Some employers also continue providing benefits to the soldiers and their families while they're gone.

It also can come down to simple acts of kindness, such as shoveling driveways or mowing yards, Fetch said.

(Reach Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com.)