BOISE — It isn’t often that a CEO, an orthodontist or a restaurant manager gets a taste of military life — but that’s exactly what happened at Gowen Field on Thursday, through the National Guard’s Boss Lift initiative.
The program, a project of the Defense Department’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) office, saw more than 100 civilian employers of active Guard members take helicopter flights, tour the base and learn about the equipment and procedures their employees use while on duty.
“It’s an effort of the National Guard to show support to all the members of the community, the employers of traditional Guards — airmen and soldiers,” said Chief Warrant Officer Nathan Spaulding, an Army National Guard pilot. “This is kind of a way to pay back the support that they give our soldiers and airmen, give them a little incentive, give them a day in the life of what their employees are doing when they come out here and train.”
The first Boss Lifts took place more than 50 years ago, and they are held nationwide. Recipients are nominated by their employees.
“When we’re gone on training or deployment, the family is taken care of by the employer,” Steve Eisele, the military outreach director for Idaho’s ESGR, said. “They have no idea what their employees do, and that’s why we bring them out here to show what it is that goes on out here.”
The helicopter flight, a 45-minute spin in a Black Hawk, was a moment of excitement for many participating employers.
“It’s a great machine. I got to have the headsets on, so I got to listen to the crew chatter and talk back and forth,” said Jeffrey Diehl, the director of risk management for Petra General Contractors. “I was really impressed with their rules and responsibilities and how they communicated with each other.”
One participating employer was a pilot herself. Amelia Hilsen of Horizon Airlines got to go up in an aircraft flown by her former employee, Chief Warrant Officer Nicholas Jenson.
“We had a route set up, so that we could fly some low-level maneuvers and kind of show her the process of getting that aircraft airborne,” Jenson said.
The participating employers also got a close-up glance at numerous tanks and hands–on experience with training simulators.
For Jessica Spoja, a manager at the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, one of the most fulfilling aspects of the Boss Lift was getting a more accurate picture of what happens on a National Guard base. Her state agency employs about a dozen active military personnel.
“We kind of imagine what they’re going through, based off of what we see in the media and entertainment, but being here today has given me a more realistic perspective on what they actually go through,” she said.
National Guard and Reserves members who wish to nominate their employers for future Boss Lifts can do so by contacting the local ESGR committee.
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