Military
Reservists called up face financial pinch
By Associate Press
March 4, 2003 NASHVILLE
The call to active duty puts a financial strain on many Army Reservists and their
families, who often are left to manage the household budget with a reduced income.
Thompson's Station resident Chuck Horvath and his wife, Lisa, a homemaker, face
a 50 percent decline in income - the difference between his military pay and what
he earns on his civilian job as the information technology director at Universal
Music Group in Nashville.
"It's a huge adjustment," said Horvath, who is waiting to see whether his employer
will pay him his full salary, the difference between what he is paid and his military
pay, or nothing at all. "We're trying to establish
some type of budget for my wife
to live
off over the next possible year." So far, about 3,300 reservists and National
Guard members in Tennessee have been called to active duty for a possible war with
Iraq.
Nationwide, more than 168,000 of a planned 265,000 reserve group have been activated.
Members of the National Guard and Reserves are paid for training and other requirements
they fulfill, but the bulk of their income comes from civilian jobs.
Employers are not required to pay employees while they are away on active duty,
though many do.
"Most of the reservists, quite frankly,
never thought they were going to get called,"
said Howard Dvorkin, president of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, a Florida-based
nonprofit organization. "It's a sacrifice for the families and even in their careers."
Gov. Phil Bredesen recently said the state would continue to pay its employees called
to duty, as have companies like Kroger, Nissan, Dell Computer, Bridgestone, BellSouth,
Saturn Corp. and HCA Inc. Dvorkin views those who offer to pay as exceptions.
"In a down economy, everybody's watching the nickel," he said. "Let's face it, you've
got to pay somebody to do that job." The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment
Rights Act of 1994 assures soldiers a similar-paying job upon return from active
duty.
