Business owners in the Desert:
The problem of Guard and Reserve
business owners being deployed

The economic policy and attitude of the Reagan Administration during the 80s created an atmosphere friendly to business. The entrepreneurial spirit of America, along with the immerging technology boom of the 90s made it possible for many Americans to start their own businesses. The past 15 years have witnessed Americans leaving the traditional factory jobs, farms, and service vocations to pursue their own endeavors.

As wonderful as this has been for us as a country, it is causing a problem in the world after the September 11th attacks.

The majority of the service members serving in the Desert Wars are Guard and Reservists. As with the population in general, many of these deployed Americans are business owners. This is a problem not being addressed at all by the military and therefore Desert Vets has decided to draw a line in the sand here and now to bring attention to the issue.

In the writing of this, we contemplated the best way to articulate the problem and decided we would give two real-life examples which explain it better than we ever could.

In the Desert Wars, as in most wars, one of the biggest challenges is the logistics of supporting the troops. Napoleon Bonaparte learned the hard way in Russia that: "an Army fights on its stomach". This is very true; getting food, water, medical supplies, ammo, and everything else needed to the troops is an arduous task. Therefore, the Transportation Corps have been utilized extensively in the Desert Wars. Due to this fact, Reserve and Guard Transportation Companies have been deployed more than any other element in the US Armed Forces, many Companies on their second or even third tours already.

The ranks of these Transportation Companies are American truck drivers from all 50 states. The trucking industry is made up of both contractors driving for employers, as well as Owner/Operators. These are people who own their trucks and hire out to companies needing something moved. This is a business just like any other. They make a huge investment in their equipment and are solely responsible for the expenses, insurance, and contracts.

Many of these business owners are also Guard and Reservists, serving their country one weekend a month. Many of them have received that letter from Uncle Sam sending them to service in the Desert Wars.

When this happens, the service member must simply put his or her truck and equipment into storage. Many are paying monthly payments on this equipment averaging $1000-$5000 a month, oftentimes even more than they make serving in the desert, making it virtually impossible to support their families and pay their bills.

The next example is of a business man currently serving in the desert. In early 2001 he invested $30,000 of his savings into an existing business and national franchise. The business was failing when he acquired it, but over the next two years of hard work, usually 60-70 hours a week, and much talent, he brought it around to the point it was making him a meager living and on its way to becoming a profitable business. After two years of this, he received his letter sending him to the desert. The business was not to the point that he could hire a manager to run it and cover all the hours he was working, therefore he was forced to sell the business. He was only given three months until he had to leave, so the sale was rushed. He was forced to accept an offer of $20,000 to get out clean. In conclusion, this soldier lost $10,000 and two years of his life because of his deployment.

At Desert Vets, we sincerely believe this endeavor in the desert is valid and important. If we didn't, we wouldn't be here. That said, this is not World War II where every able body is needed in the defense of our very way of life. We submit to you that Reserve and Guard members who will suffer greatly due to the deployment should be exempt. A plan should be set in place to release business owners from service if they request it.

Now we realize the need for regulations on this matter, without a set of rules service members who mow lawns or shovel snow on the side would be attempting to get out of their deployments. We recommend a set of standards be set in place that if the service member is the owner of a legitimate business, that he or she can show on paper, and can prove through tax and business records that 60% or more of his or her income comes from the business…they should be exempt from deployment.

This simple solution would not only greatly help many service members and their families, but it would go a long way to improving the overall moral, (and therefore the efficiency) of the Armed Forces.