Fleet Week, San Diego’s annual weeklong tribute to the area’s military men and women, has come and gone. Once again, the city and its business community has gone “above and beyond” in displaying its gratitude to those who serve their country.
This year’s tribute had even more significance in light of the deadly attack on the USS Cole in Yemen only days before Fleet Week began.
As a Vietnam-era vet who experienced the callous disregard and distrust many on both sides of the political aisle held for the military during that sad period of our nation’s history, I appreciate how this community honors its servicemen and women.
Nevertheless, I would like to pay tribute to the thousands of men and women who also serve in uniforms of one type or another, and whose contributions normally go unnoticed.
First, I’d like to pay tribute to those in our community who serve in our nation’s reserve forces. I’m not sure Fleet Week adequately recognizes the contributions being made by the men and women who serve in the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard reserves, as well as the National Guard.
These so-called “weekend warriors” are spending far more than weekends in their country’s service. With the reduction of active duty personnel, reservists today make up nearly half of our military force, and serve around the world for extended periods of time.
The sacrifice they make is not just on the battlefield, or in being away from hearth and home for long periods of time. Their reserve service also jeopardizes their jobs and their careers.
Studies show many employers do not approve of the extra time away from the job that reserve duty now requires. If the business community truly wants to show support for our armed forces, it can start by supporting their own employees whose part-time military service now provides a massive chunk of our nation’s defense capabilities.
Also due tribute, I believe, are those who serve in uniform without pay, volunteers of military auxiliary organizations that back up their parent service. The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, for instance, have taken on major new duties , including serving as watch standers and crew members aboard cutters and patrol boats , in support of the Coast Guard in its ever expanding mission load. Members of the Civil Air Patrol, also known as the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, have done likewise.
Probably the least known of these organizations is the California State Military Reserve, uniformed volunteers who provide support to the state’s National Guard units.
Members of these organizations can contribute hundreds of valuable man-hours each year to further the mission of its parent agency. They, too, need the support of their employers.
So do members of those fully civilian organizations that stand ready to respond to local emergencies. The American Red Cross, ubiquitous at disasters, stands out most prominently among these.
Most San Diegans, however, are probably not aware that outside the county’s major metropolitan areas, most fire and rescue work is done by volunteers , members of volunteer fire departments or rescue services like the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Bureau, comprised entirely of sworn and unsworn volunteers.
These people, who may have to respond on a moment’s notice to an emergency, need the support and understanding of their employers, too.
Everyone mentioned here spends hour upon hour training and preparing to answer the call when it comes. And when it does come, they are sometimes called upon to put their lives on the line. We in the business community should stand just as ready to give them the support they need, and the gratitude they deserve.
Hill is editor of the San Diego Business Journal.
