Packing a bag today...

What would the Air Force do if they
both still had service obligations and she got pregnant
and they couldn't come up with a viable family care plan?

Best wishes,
Ericka


They would probably let her get out.

Sophie wrote:

By law they're meant to have their jobs waiting for them. But what does an
employer do with an employee they've had for 18 months while the Reseve
person has been gone? Tough situation for everyone.

Absolutely. And from what I understand, while
they have to provide the returning reservist with a job,
it doesn't have to be the same job and it doesn't even
have to be in the same city/state/region (if the employer
has other work sites). How long before employers start
trying to find ways to either not hire reservists or
make their jobs unattractive to reservists?

It's a tough call--I've seen it go both ways.

Really?

Yeah. Sometimes the civilian kids are
really respectful of the job the military kids'
parents are doing and they don't know as much
about it to scare the military kids. Also,
they don't tend to have the war in the forefront
of their consciousness all the time. On the
other hand, sometimes they're hideously insensitive.
Same with the military kids--they can be kind
because they're in the same boat, or the fear
and stress (or just ignorance/immaturity) can
make them say incredibly hurtful things.

Why oh why would anyone think that?

Beats me, but I guess some people are just
naive.

Yeah other branches *are* more family
friendly than the Marine Corps but I'm sorry, you're really crazy to think
the military *really* cares that you have kids.

Yep. They have made many parts of the military
somewhat more family friendly, but when push comes to
shove they really don't care. They're not going to change
their decision making to accommodate spouses or kids
on any important issue.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Absolutely. And from what I understand, while
they have to provide the returning reservist with a job,
it doesn't have to be the same job and it doesn't even
have to be in the same city/state/region (if the employer
has other work sites).

Wow, really??

How long before employers start
trying to find ways to either not hire reservists or
make their jobs unattractive to reservists?

You bet!

Yeah. Sometimes the civilian kids are
really respectful of the job the military kids'
parents are doing and they don't know as much
about it to scare the military kids.

Aahh true.

Also,
they don't tend to have the war in the forefront
of their consciousness all the time. On the
other hand, sometimes they're hideously insensitive.

Both true.

Same with the military kids--they can be kind
because they're in the same boat, or the fear
and stress (or just ignorance/immaturity) can
make them say incredibly hurtful things.

And they hear what their parents are saying.

Beats me, but I guess some people are just
naive.

Yeah other branches *are* more family
friendly than the Marine Corps but I'm sorry, you're really crazy to
think
the military *really* cares that you have kids.

Yep. They have made many parts of the military
somewhat more family friendly, but when push comes to
shove they really don't care. They're not going to change
their decision making to accommodate spouses or kids
on any important issue.

Best wishes,
Ericka


That's right.

"Sophie" wrote
By law they're meant to have their jobs waiting for them. But what does
an
employer do with an employee they've had for 18 months while the Reseve
person has been gone? Tough situation for everyone.


The last company I worked for was a large corporation, in the midst of
increasing layoffs and restructuring too, and I knew several guys who were
in the reserves and shipped off to Iraq/Afghanistan. 2 in particular were
reserves/national guard and gone for a whole 18 months. By law they each can
be away for as long as needed, and when they come back they have to be put
back into an equal-paying job they left, but not necessarily the SAME job
title. If the company replaced them in their absence, the company tries to
locate an open position but if they can't find an open equivalent position,
the company will put them back in their old job and lay off the least senior
employee if it creates too many employees in that workgroup. In other words
they have to take the reservist back even if it means they lay someone else
off. Also, in one case, the reservist gone would have been laid off if he
was here-- in that case, the company just laid off who WAS here by seniority
and put the reservist back in his job when he came back. (Believe it or not,
no one complained that the group had been in layoffs but they put the
reservist back into a position).

IMO it's not because this company really cares, but it looks good
politically and publically for them to support our men/women who are
overseas fighting. And also IMO, I am glad they DO treat the reservists this
way. They put their asses on the line, they deserve their job when they get
back.
Jill

"Sophie" wrote in message
...
I agree. Although I think the situation is particularly
bad with the Reserves because they all have "day jobs." I
suspect many employers are hot about the long deployments
and I wonder how that will undermine support for employees
who are in the Reserves in the future. I'm sure employers
are not *supposed* to discriminate on that basis, but I'll
bet if things continue like this they'll find a way to do
so rather than have to figure out how to deal with employees
being taken out for that long and then having to find a job
for them when they get back. And on top of that, I suspect
that employers might cut down on the benefits they offer
to reservists that aren't mandatory.

By law they're meant to have their jobs waiting for them. But what does
an
employer do with an employee they've had for 18 months while the Reseve
person has been gone? Tough situation for everyone.

It's a tough call--I've seen it go both ways.

Really?

I think SIL and BIL haven't had reality sink in
yet. They actually said they thought the Air Force wouldn't
deploy them at the same time if they had kids.

Best wishes,
Ericka


Why oh why would anyone think that? Yeah other branches *are* more family
friendly than the Marine Corps but I'm sorry, you're really crazy to think
the military *really* cares that you have kids.


Ain't that the truth. My husband's leave dates changed last month because
for some reason they just couldn't do without him when his 2nd in command
was not there. He asked, "My 2nd in command will not be here in July when
my wife is having her baby. Is it going to be a problem then?"

They *think* it will be okay.

"Donna" wrote in message
Ok, I hear this all the time, from folks here, and from my mom, who
apparently read The Godfather at night when she was nursing me as a
baby.
The thing I was never able to figure out, for 8 damn months, is this:
how
are you all holding the baby and the book at the same time???? I was
never
able to get the baby latched, and the book adjusted enough to read
while
nursing. Tips, please?

I know this is a *really* late response, but I am hopelessly behind with
this group and have been skimming through the backlog of posts and this
one caught my eye. Nursing the baby lying down is the way to nurse and
read! You just hold the book out to the side kind of and read away!
Having a baby has absorbed almost every scrap of my free time, but
miraculously, my leisure reading time has increased by literally hours
since he's been born. It is great! I have also been able to read with my
free hand while nursing sitting up, but it is not nearly as comfortable.

--
Em
mama to L-baby, almost 8 months old!