Balancing commitments: What do you do when no one is willing to work with you?

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 09:36:55 -0500

I've noticed quite a few threads about balancing employer commitments and college commitments against Reserve and Guard commitments for drill and AT.

What do you do if NO ONE is willing to work with you? In the case of a school commitment, what happens when your unit changes the schedule multiple times, and is not willing to let you RST (or do an alternate AT), but your professors aren't willing to work with you? Is it really right to have to then put off school (or potentially fail) because your unit can't get its act together and give you a stable drill/AT schedule?

In the case of an employer, what do you do if your job won't work with you and your unit won't either?

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Mar 8 at 2017 9:41 AM

SGT Ben Keen — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 09:41:38 -0500

While I am thankful to have completed my 8 years all on active duty and never having to deal with this type of thing, I wonder how often something like this happens. How often are Reserve and Guard service members faced with something like this? Is there a proper procedure you are supposed to follow when something like this happens or are you left to figure it out on your own?

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Mar 8 at 2017 9:47 AM

LTC Kevin B. — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 09:47:47 -0500

Most universities have policies and/or organizational elements that serve to work on the behalf of students who have military commitments. If the professor won't budge, then the institution has the means to engage the professor to see if something can be worked out. The problems are normally that a) the student doesn't know about them (most likely) or b) the student isn't telling the full truth about their circumstances (not as common). We have an office dedicated to military students and their issues. We also have a university-level task force that addresses student concerns. We also have a student organization made up of military students. I'm not aware of this ever being a concern at my university, but I realize there can be quite a bit of variance across academia.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 8 at 2017 9:59 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 09:59:36 -0500

I've never dealt with this from the military side. I guess I've been fortunate enough to have CoCs that believe in covering butts. I have dealt with it from the civilian employment side. I fixed that by getting on as a miltech with the Guard. It's my understanding that employers have no choice but to work with you when it comes to your military commitments. I'd contact ESGR or the Dept of Labor in your state and see what your options are concerning that.

As far as school goes, I have no experience dealing with that but I have seen a number of people have that issue.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Mar 8 at 2017 10:07 AM

SGT Dave Tracy — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:07:06 -0500

Chief, your post reminds me of the axiom about most questions being statements in disguise. Let me guess, you've unfortunately been there and done that?

I've never had that issue. My unit has always been organized enough to stick to its training schedule and provide dates well ahead of time, and it generally accommodates scheduling issues when it can when they arise. If one's unit is not so organized and will not assist those who have to suffer due to their lack of organization, perhaps it's time to look at other units.

But if that isn't an option, many schools have policies in place to allow for time away from class to address military issues. If the instructor wants to be a douche, contact the appropriate dean and/or coordinate with any student veteran or ROTC groups on campus to see what insight or assistance they can provide. Might as well, you're paying for that education, and it should be worth the time and effort to ensure you get it. As far as employment goes, there are certain legal protections; it would be worth exploring the limits of those protections though before going to the boss.

I don't envy those with the issues you bring up. As I said, I don't have such issues; nonetheless, I can't well balance grad school, work, family, life (which I apparently still need to get), and my Reserve commitments, and what will give is the Reserves. My contract is up in May. Two more drills. Six more drill days. Then I'm out.

Good luck.

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Mar 8 at 2017 11:31 AM

SMSgt Thor Merich — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:31:41 -0500

That's a tough position when no one will work with you.

The easiest solution is to pick a school that is geared towards military folks. AMU is a great example, but there are others out there.

Having a unit that isn't flexible is tough. Easiest answer, change units. I recommend the IMA program (both the Army and Air Force have it). Getting into the IMA can be tough as the average recruiter has no clue about it. For those that don't know, IMA stands for Individual Mobilization Augmentee. You are a reservist assigned to an active duty unit. Your obligation is 30 days a year. You choose your own schedule. Its a great program.

Dealing with a job that wont work with you is tough too. Again, the IMA program solves that issue.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Mar 8 at 2017 12:00 PM

LTC John Shaw — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 12:00:43 -0500

Work with the academic chair of the department or the administration and use any verbiage on the website where they state support for veterans.

I ran into this issue in law school and I had to formally request out of AT, my rating was hammered for the two years I had conflicts.

I was able to get adjustments from civilian work and graduate school for my MBA. It is a person to person negotiation, appeal to the professors sense of duty but understand they have to be fair and consistent to all students.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 8 at 2017 12:05 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 12:05:17 -0500

Where there is a will, there is a way. When I decided to get my masters, I wanted to attend a local state university. They only offered daytime classes. I asked my boss if I could flex my schedule two days a week, which he disapproved. I found a for profit school that offered night classes and left that job as soon as I graduated.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Mar 8 at 2017 1:25 PM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 13:25:48 -0500

I don't have any experience with the school side of things, but work conflict generally depends on the size and type of business you work. During most of my National Guard time, I worked for a national building supply chain that had a number of federal contracts, so at corporate level they went out of their way to work with the Guard and Reserve employees. Although I had a couple of managers gripe to HR about my Guard time, HR was always on my side. I probably abused it a bit, since I volunteered for any school or duty that would advance by career. That is still federally protected BTW. As company commander, the smaller employers were generally the problem and it's hard to have much leverage with them even though they are legally required to let you off the same as the big guys. I guess we were lucky locally and the Universities worked with the students if they had conflict.

The one the Guard side, it you have a unit that isn't trying to help you maintain civilian employment, within reason, look for another unit. I will say as a commander, leadership people would have had to have a damn good reason for not attending AT. To be a bit of a hard ass about it, we are all volunteers and we actively sought our positions. If you can't make the sacrifices in time to do the job, it may be time to do something else.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 9 at 2017 12:24 AM

COL Charles Williams — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 00:24:45 -0500

Never had that issue... luckily...

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Mar 9 at 2017 11:05 AM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 11:05:08 -0500

It eventually gets down to priorities.
First, you try to work with all the relevant parties and find something that works.
If that is ultimately a dead end, you need to decide what thing(s) are most important and run with that.