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Generals meet with Middle Georgia employers

  • Published
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Senior reserve military officers met with six Middle Georgia employers here Nov. 18 to discuss employer issues and receive honest feedback on what it means to employ reservists.

Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., commander of the Air Force Reserve Command, and Army Maj. Gen. Charles Luckey, assistant chairman to the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Reserve Matters in Washington, D.C., hosted a luncheon for the employers at Headquarters AFRC.

"Our ability to balance the 'Reserve Triad' - the Air Force, family, and civilian employer - allows us to remain a critical component of national defense," General Stenner said. "This was a great opportunity to meet with local employers of guardsmen and reservists to discuss the value of their continued support."

Larry Cannon, Southeast region logistics manager at Frito Lay in Kathleen, Ga., said he was glad to meet with the generals.

"It is important that you have the leadership asking the questions because they will take what you say and at least consider it," Mr. Cannon said.

The employers, who were Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's Patriot Award recipients, and the generals discussed deployments and candidate pools during a luncheon.

"What I learned was that only 27 percent of military candidates are eligible, so the military and the private industry are looking for the same type of person," said George McCanless, president and publisher of the Telegraph in Macon, Ga.

The luncheon was scheduled to last 45-minutes. Instead, it turned into a 90-minute exchange filled with honest feedback. Several of the attendees agreed it was important to have this type of dialogue.