Army Reserve signs Employer Partnership Initiative with GE

Army.mil ^ | J.D. Leipold

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON (Jan. 17, 2009) - The Army Reserve signed an agreement with General Electric Jan. 15 at the Pentagon making the 330,000-employee company the 153rd to become an employer partner with the Reserve in less than a year.

Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz and GE Vice President and Chief Security Officer Francis X. Taylor put their pens to the Employer Partnership Initiative document, formalizing an agreement to work collaboratively in developing long-term job solutions for Soldiers and veterans.

"GE has a great development program in terms of teaching not only the technical skills, but management skills that our Soldiers translate onto the battlefield, so when we have a Soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan they are not only using their military skills, in a lot of cases they're using their business skills," said Stultz.

"GE immediately stepped up and said they want to be partners with the military. They employ about 11,000 veterans working in GE right now so they understand that warrior ethos, they understand integrity, they understand the leadership, the team building that you get when you have a Soldier in your employment, so it's great they've stepped up and said 'we want to be there with you.'"

"GE is a multinational corporation that has jobs in all the areas of engineering, science and research, human resources at both the officer and the NCO level," said Taylor. "We have tremendous need for technicians who can go in the field and execute difficult technical tasks, so the range of jobs and opportunities for our company are great and we believe that the skill sets that Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines bring to our company serve us as well as they serve the United States military."

The first partnership agreement between the Army Reserve and a civilian corporation was launched in April 2008 when INOVA Health System, a six-hospital corporation in northern Virginia agreed to employ a variety of future medical technicians who agree to join and be trained by the Army Reserve. Other organizations the Reserve has signed agreements with include the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, the American Trucking Association and Crowley Auto Group.