Military

Because my parents wouldn’t co-sign with me, I had to wait 4 more months. 3 days after my 18th birthday, I left for Marine Corps Boot Camp. I spent most of my 5 years of service with the Marines in Hawaii and Japan, with a few months flying and floating around the South China Sea and the Pacific. That was 1974 to 1979. * Because I had prior service, I was able to join the Army National Guard in February of 2007 at a relatively more advanced age then most of my peers (age 50). By April 2007, I had orders to deploy to Iraq with the 143rd, a Field Artillery unit out of Concord, CA. After a few months of training at Fort Dix New Jersey, we were sent to Iraq. I was stationed at Camp Taji, a Forward Operations Base (FOB) north of Baghdad. My unit was assigned force protection, which is basically perimeter and entry control point (ECP) security. I came home April 2008, and after a week or two of rest went right back to work at AT&T.

I’m very proud to be an AT&T employee. Our company is very supportive of our troops. My leadership and the leadership of my wife, who was also an employee of AT&T (she retired in 2/2010), was very supportive to me, to her and my family. My Director, Robert Brooks, assured me that the group I had been managing for the last 10 years would be absorbed by my peers and upon my return, my group would be spun back together under me. True to his word, that is exactly what happened. HR made sure that all of my paper work was exact and kept my wife up to date on all payroll transactions. Because my Deployment was under "Title 10" (a commander and Chief executive Order), the company was able to pay a portion of my salary along with my military pay. Many of my peers in the Guard lost their jobs once we were deployed, and/or their families suffered financially. Thanks to AT&T’s support, all I had to worry about were my day to day circumstance of being in Iraq. My wife was in regular communication with my Director. My wife’s boss, Steve Sposato, made sure she had internet privileges to chat with me online during the few times I was able to access my Yahoo chat sessions. That said; I would like to say thank you to my AT&T family for their support and positive thoughts during my year of deployment. Unfortunately not all soldiers had the kind of strong support structure that I was blessed with.” Close

My initial hire as a craft employee was directly out of the US Marine Corps. AT&T’s (then Southwestern Bell) Human Resources department applied my military experience, bringing me in at the 4 year level as a Communications Technician. They were enthusiastic and welcoming, as was the department I was assigned to. Remaining in the reserves, I was overjoyed to find that AT&T made every possible attempt to accommodate my reserve schedule.

In 2000, I accepted a management position within the company. Again, AT&T was able to accommodate every aspect of my concurrent military career. I found ever increasing ways to include my past and ongoing military training, to include diversity, leadership, staff development, as well as the technical aspects, into my career with AT&T. The company truly proved it’s worthiness of its’ multiple awards from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Group.

In 2005, I received news that tested this relationship to its limits. I was being deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The stress on work, family, and personal relationships is beyond description for anyone that has never experienced it. AT&T not only made this process almost seamless for me, they went above and beyond by relieving my family and me of the additional stress of financial troubles. AT&T made up the difference in pay I encountered during the mobilization. Our group Clerk made constant contact with my wife, offering to help with any troubles she encountered. I received countless care packages from the group, and letters keeping me up to date on changes within the organization as well as well wishes and greetings.

My transition back to the company in 2006 was again trouble free. I was able to come back into the same position, a raise that I was entitled to during the mobilization was immediately applied and I felt genuinely welcomed back. I can’t stress enough how grateful I am for this welcome. The transition back to civilian life is difficult and the Company made that aspect a great experience.

In January 2009, I was again mobilized, this time in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, (Afghanistan). Being with a new group (and a rebranded company, now One AT&T), I was anxious as to how it would affect my professional life. SBC had already set the bar, and set it high. To my delight and eternal thanks, it went just like the first deployment. I was able to return and it was as if I had never left.

I did not join the Military reserve in wartime. The balancing of your military and professional careers is difficult in peacetime, but is excruciating in times such as these with a war in two theaters. AT&T has exceeded what is expected of any company in support of the Country, our military and my career. Whether leaving active duty for a new career as a civilian, maintaining a reserve career or retiring from the military and pursuing a second career, I highly recommend AT&T to any US service member.” Close

If you include processing, training and separation, I was on active duty for over 18 months. During that timeframe, my active duty pay (including allowances) was about 40% less than what I earned at AT&T. AT&T has a great program supporting its employees who are called to active duty. They paid the difference between my military pay and my AT&T salary so my family did not have to bear the financial brunt of my deployment. I did not lose seniority (my days of service to AT&T were not reduced to reflect the 18 months of active duty service) which counts towards AT&T retirement. When I returned in late November, I was given my full vacation allowance even though I rejoined the company very late in the year. Finally, my supervisor ensured my records were correct so that I would receive 100% performance bonus awarded each year to AT&T employees even though I was in Iraq for most of the year. I am very fortunate to be employed by such a great company.” Close