Oregon Public Broadcasting

As Oregon’s Army National Guard members prepare for a massive spring deployment, they’re leaving a lot of job vacancies left behind.  April Baer reports that for some employers, the timing may actually be a blessing in disguise.

The lot of National Guard members demands that they put their normal lives on hold from time to time. 

When 3000 people leave the state to serve in Iraq, as they'll be doing this year, the workplace implications are obvious: a delay in the soldier’s own career plans, and big adjustments for his or her employer. But this year, problems in the state’s economy may save some employers from having to make painful choices while citizen-soldiers are away.

Rick Moisa is a Specialist with the Guard’s 218 Field Artillery Unit based in McMinnville. When he grins, which is often, he looks younger than his 39 years.

Moisa’s a bit older than your average recruit. He's not married, has no kids or other family responsibilities that he's leaving behind. He joined the Guard becaues he was ready for a change.

Rick Moisa “I was kind of getting stagnant. I don’t now. I always need, like, a challenge. So I came up with this idea I was going to join the military, and move my life up the ladder, you know?”

Like many other Guard members, he’ll be working convoy support in Iraq. When he goes, within a month, he’s leaving behind sixteen years of experience in landscaping and construction, much of it as a foreman with DeSantis Landscaping. And the season is just getting rolling.

Moisa’s qualified to run every piece of equipment this business has. He even helped build an addition to the company’s headquarters in the rolling hills east of Salem. More importantly, he’s the guy trusted by company owner Dean DeSantis to run crews in the field.

Dean DeSantis   “We’ll have anywhere from a 2-man crew to 6 or 7 people on a job. And Rick’s the kind of guy who can handle those 6 or 7 member crews. Not everyone has that kind of skill.”

DeSantis says Moisa’s been with the business almost as long as he has. They kid around with the ease of two guys who have years worth of inside jokes.

Dean DeSantis  “I’m a second generation owner of this business. My dad actually hired Rick the first time. Rick and I worked on a maintenance crew together -- back in the day.

Rick Moisa  “Me and Dean have been around each other a long time now.”

In normal times, a year-plus absence for an employee like Moisa would represent a big problem for DeSantis. Employers typically replace deployed Guard members with temporary staff -- workers who know they may have to move on when Guard members return. But 2009 is different.

DeSantis is pretty sure he’s not going to replace Moisa, as the traditional slow season gives way to spring and summer.

Dean DeSantis    “The key is going to be now, when the crocuses are blooming, and the daffodils are pushing up, is the phone going to start ringing. The timing -- it could be a lot worse.”

Of course he’ll have to have someone run the crews, but assuming business stays slow, he won’t be looking for a full-time replacement.

It’s hard to know exactly how many businesses are in the same boat as DeSantis Landscaping. Neither the Oregon Employment Department nor the Military Department keeps records on the temps who are hired during deployments.

Phillip Highwood works for the Oregon Army National Guard’s Re-Integration Team. Highwood says employers don’t really have a choice about holding jobs open for returning service members. Federal law says they have to.

What’s sometimes more complicated is how returning soldiers want their jobs to change. Men and women who’ve had long overseas deployments often take on new risks, and new roles.

Phillip Highwood   “When they come home, they don’t normally feel that the job fits their needs. Now they want a job that offers more. More responsibility, so they feel better about what they’re doing.”

Of course it’s a gamble, not knowing what the economy will be like twelve to fourteen months from now. But Dean DeSantis says there’s no doubt in his mind, whatever happens, he’ll have a place for Rick Moisa when he comes back.

Moisa is already thinking about molding that position to his advantage.

Rick Moisa “Not that I’m really worried about them finding anyone better than me.”

DeSantis just lost one of its landscape designers. Moisa hopes when he comes back he can go to school to become the certified landscape architect DeSantis needs.

We got help reporting this story from our Public Insight Network.  People in the Public Insight Network are helping us cover the news by sharing their knowledge and experience.   You can find out more at  our web site - opb.org/publicinsight.