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931st employer, NASA, to receive ESGR "Above and Beyond" award

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Zach Anderson
  • 931st Air Refueling Group Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The employer of a 931st member has been selected to receive a high-level award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

Tech. Sgt. Lynn Lefebvre, a traditional Reservist assigned to the 931st Civil Engineer Squadron, McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., worked together with fellow traditional Reservist, Maj. Kevin McCue, assigned to the 810th Civil Engineer Flight, Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, to nominate their employer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, for the "Above and Beyond Award."

According to the ESGR website, www.esgr.org, the "Above and Beyond Award" is given in limited numbers by state and territory ESGR committees. It recognizes employers at the state and local level who have gone above and beyond the legal requirements for granting leave and providing support for military duty by their employees.

Lefebvre, who works for NASA as a geographic information system technician at in his civilian job, said his employer had definitely gone "above and beyond" in their level of support to his military service, especially during his recent six-month deployment.

"When I was deployed, if there was an issue with pay or leave, it was resolved by the next day," he said. "There was absolutely no worry about my civilian job at all. My supervisors would check up on me while I was deployed to make sure I was doing OK."

In their nomination form, the two Reservists noted how their employer had worked to make communication easy for military employees when deployed.

"One of the biggest things is the fact that NASA has consolidated almost all human resource activities into what is called the 'NASA Shared Services Center' several years ago. This provided one point of contact for Reserve and National Guard issues that consolidates the very best knowledge for all matters such as leave, pay, and benefits. Having one point of contact makes it incredibly easy for family members, supervisors, and Reservist or Guard members to reach exactly the right person with a single phone call or e-mail. Both of us were able to contact the right NSSC representative while deployed by e-mail or phone call."

Lefebvre also noted that he was hired to work for NASA even though the agency was aware that he had orders for a deployment.

"They actually moved up my start date by two weeks so that I was hired before I deployed and could begin receiving the benefits they offer to deployed employees, which was a big show of support," he said.

The award will be presented May 24 at a ceremony in D.C.