Deployment of R.I. guardsmen a tough loss for employers

Members of the Rhode Island National Guard


It's a difficult time to plug holes in a workforce, and it's even harder for soldiers who leave their own business behind.

CAMP SHELBY, MISS. -- In an Army company of 155 men and women, Specialist Douglas Yakel's background sets him apart.

Unlike most of his fellow soldiers, Yakel, who has been training here before his unit is deployed this week to Iraq, is self-employed back home in Woonsocket.

Most of the soldiers in the Rhode Island Army National Guard Transportation Company 1207, made up of guardsmen from Rhode Island and Washington D.C., work for large companies, state agencies, or cities and towns.

Their employers -- fire departments, factories and other big operations -- can adjust shifts or bring on new workers to cover for their employees who will be on Guard duty for a year or more.

But Yakel, 47, must figure out how to keep his real estate business in Woonsocket operating while he's overseas. It's a difficulty Yakel said he expected when he joined the National Guard but one he must deal with because he wants to serve his country.

"Yeah, it's hard, and takes a lot of adjusting," Yakel said, "but this is my fight, not my grandkids' fight."

Like Yakel, other owners of small businesses, such as Stephen Costa, 41, owner of the American Blueprint Co. in Providence, said being called up means turning over control of the business to family or friends.

Read the rest at the Providence Journal