by Vicky Falcón
NAVAIR Public Affairs

When Chris Patke, a Web developer, received her call-up to active duty in the Navy reserves last month, she tried to put a positive spin on things for her co-workers within the Information Management Department at NAVAIR Patuxent River. "I told them I was only going to D.C., and that I'd be just a phone call away," she said.

Rob Koon, an Air Force reservist who works in the NAVAIR Public Affairs Office, was also optimistic about his availability to assist the office from long distance. After being called into active duty, he made sure everyone at his civilian office knew how to reach him at his new duty station.

But they both are leaving holes that are hard to fill.

"Fortunately, we have an awesome team that's willing to take on the additional load," said Tracy Long, Web application team lead for Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) and Patke's supervisor. "Chris received about a month's notice that she may be called upon, but when she received official word, she basically had less than a day to close the loops on her projects and pass them to another developer."

"Rob knew so much history and background information about the programs we support," said Gary Shrout, director of NAVAIR Public Affairs. "We're getting the job done, but we are stretched thinner than ever. We really miss Rob's comprehensive knowledge and ability to connect with the people in the program offices."

According to statistics kept by the Human Resources Department at Patuxent River, there are 580 civilian employees throughout NAVAIR headquarters and Pax River who are listed as reservists (including retired reservists) in one of the branches of the military.

"We have 66 reservists in the 'ready reserves' - those who could be called up for 24 months," said Laurie Edgecomb, a personnel management specialist with NAWCAD at Patuxent River. According to Edgecomb, there are 99 other reservists belonging to selected reserve units who could be activated for up to 270 days.

How many of them have already been called up is hard to quantify.

"These aren't just Navy reservists," explained Edgecomb. "There are different agencies initiating call-ups, and collecting that data can be a slow process."

There is also no way of knowing how many contractors have been activated, or how many reservists are on stand-by waiting to have their status changed back to active duty.

"I've been through this before," said Troy Topper, AIR-7.1, member of the Resource and Allocation team at NAVAIR and an Air Force reservist on stand-by for a January call-up. "I was in Kuwait and Desert Storm," he said, "but this one is personal. I don't really mind being called up this time."

But those he works with feel differently. Audry Macknight is worried. She is Topper's supervisor and co-team leader for the Resource and Allocation Team for NAVAIR headquarters. "We're chewing our nails here," she said. "There is just so much that (Troy) does. We're trying to work more together as a team and we're all working outside of the box we were trained in."

Greg Denman, a supervisory contract specialist with NAWCAD, had some time to prepare before one of his contract specialists, Greg Rankin, an Air Force reservist, went back to active duty November 9. "We had known for 6-8 weeks that he'd be called up," said Denman.

"Greg was very helpful and organized," he added. A trait that Denman says will make for a smooth transition when another contract specialist rotates in to back-fill the position. Until then, the team is assuming the additional responsibilities.

Bill Clark is the government lead engineer for the V-22 Integrated Test Team. He is also an Army reservist. His deputy, Mac Brown, is an Army National Guard reservist in Virginia. Both are on standby.

"We still have our primaries, but in the areas that people could leave, we're stepping up and getting double coverage," said Clark.

Since Clark has already lost a couple people on the contractor side and since he knows Brown could leave with three hours notice, he's had to plan ahead. His advice to other supervisors is to do the same.

"First, make sure you know who is a reserve-force person," he said. Are they actively training? If so, Clark advises you get a handle on the status of the units they belong to so you have a better understanding of when and if they will be deployed.

To best be prepared for the holes that will occur in your department if they do get orders, Clark suggests you plan ahead. "Make sure you have backups," Clark said. "And make sure you plan for the short term and the long term."

"The hardest part to prepare for is not knowing how long someone will be gone," he said. "Mac could go for two days, two weeks, or two years, and I need to be prepared for that."

Photos by Vicky Falcón (higher resolution photos available)

Photo Captions:

#1 - With two of their members on alert as military reservists, the V-22 Integrated Test Team uses dual coverage to prepare for their call-up during a test-planning meeting. Pictured from left to right: Rich Kinney, senior lead engineer for avionics; Bill Clark, government lead engineer and Army reservist; Mac Brown, deputy lead engineer and Army National Guard reservist; Andy Anderson, flight controls engineer; and Ray Dagenhart, senior engineer for flying qualities and performance.

#2 - Troy Topper, AIR-7.8, a member of the Resource and Allocation team at NAVAIR and an Air Force reservist, teams with budget analysts JoAnn Parker (on left) and Marlene Clifton as they prepare to shoulder some of his current tasks when he reports for active duty in January.