OTTUMWA —
First Lieutenant Eric Reyman of Ottumwa smiled Saturday afternoon after stepping out of a Chinook helicopter and standing on solid ground at Ottumwa Regional Airport.
“I’m goin’ home,” he said.
Reyman, 36, is a member of the Iowa National Guard 224th Engineers Battalion, based in Fairfield.
Reyman’s employer and “the bosses” of other Iowa National Guardsmen spent Saturday at Fort McCoy, Wis., touring areas where their employees/Guardsmen train, practice qualifying on the rifle range and work on equipment.
The Boss Lift left Burlington about 9 a.m. Saturday and landed in Ottumwa about 5 p.m.
Phil Lyon was one of the participating bosses and Reyman is his employee. Lyon ministers at Meadow Brook Christian Church and Union Temples, Kirksville, Mo. Reyman also pastors at Abingdon Church of Christ.
Reggie Marlin of Ottumwa also participated in the Boss Lift. He’s the assistant pastor at Abingdon.
“The main thing is that the employers now have a better understanding and appreciation for our servicemen,” he said. “One of the officers said Iowa always sends more soldiers, even back to the Civil War.”
The officer also said Iowans are more connected to farming and the soil. They also have a “Midwestern understanding” of what has to be done.
“Because of being connected to the farm and soil, they are also connected to God,” Lyon said. “And we now have a better understanding of our boys.”
Reyman said it was “good to have Phil” make the journey “to see what we do, to see the soldiers in action.” John Roloff of John Deere Ottumwa Works helped Reyman find out about Boss Lift because of the Guardsmen working at Deere, he added.
“Mr. Roloff also helps us at the church,” he added.
Reyman is working on being a full chaplain in the Guard.
“I’m doing what I love and I get paid for it,” he said and his smile was bigger than before.
Today 14,000 Iowans serve in the Guard and Reserve. Boss Lift is an employer outreach program that transports employers and supervisors to military training sites where they observe National Guard and Reserve members during military training.
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) was founded in 1972 as an agency of the Department of Defense. The Iowa ESGR committee has more than 140 volunteer business, civic and academic leaders.
ESGR serves as a proactive liaison between military leaders and employers to address issues and develop solutions to problems that arise because of employee participation in the National Guard and Reserves.
Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com.
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Related Photos
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Cindy Toopes/The Courier Employers from Ottumwa and surrounding area leave the Chinook helicopter that delivered them to and from Fort McCoy, Wis. The employers participated in Boss Lift, a program of transporting employers to military training where they observe National Guard and Reserve members during military training.
Employers visit Guardsmen workers
Boss Lift is a Guard and Reserve outreach program
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