For Immediate Release
The Company will compete against other state winners for the National Award.
May 29, 2003: Roanoke, VA --- ITT Industries Night Vision in Roanoke County has received the Pro Patria Award for Outstanding Support of the Guard and Reserve. Presented by the Virginia Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (VaESGR), this Department of Defense award is the highest honor that the ESGR bestows upon any organization at the state level. ITT now will compete against other states for the national ESGR award.
“We are honored to receive this prestigious award,” stated Gary Aicher, ITT Industries Night Vision President & General Manager. “Such recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects the value that we place on our employees, especially those who are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to protect the lives and ensure the freedom of others. As a defense contractor, we’re proud to supply critical technology to U.S. military forces, and we’re equally proud to support our employees who have answered the call to duty.” ITT Industries Night Vision currently has 5 employees serving in the Guard and Reserves.
The company was nominated for the VaESGR award by Major Lapthe C. Flora, who currently serves as the Operations Officer of this region’s Army National Guard unit (1st Batallion of the 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division Light), headquartered in Roanoke. He completed a seven-month tour of duty in Bosnia last year. A Vietnamese refugee, Virginia Military Institute (VMI) graduate, and 1995 recipient of the U.S. Army’s General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, Flora has been employed for 15 years by ITT Industries Night Vision, where he presently is Engineering Manager for the Specialty Applications Group.
Flora directly credits the supervisory support he has received from Jim Harris, Vice President & Director of Engineering for the Night Vision Division, as well as the company policy that enables employees called to active duty to continue to receive their salary and benefits while serving in war time.
“Companies are required, by law, to grant the annual two weeks leave required for Guard and Reserve training,” explained Flora. “However, beyond that, it is up to each individual company to determine how employees may be compensated. When Guard and Reserve employees are deployed for active duty and begin to receive military payment, ITT has agreed to pay the balance, or the difference, between their military salary and their existing company salary to ensure that employees - while serving in the military - continue to earn the salary to which they’ve become accustomed. That assurance means a lot.”
“I must emphasize, however, that it really was the soldiers in my unit who urged me to nominate ITT for the award,” Flora continued. “In addition to providing substantial compensation for activated employees, the company has offered the use of its conference rooms and mobile training unit as classroom training facilities for the Guard - if and when needed.”
The VaESGR operates under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Their mission is to provide information, resources, and ombudsman assistance to help employers comply with the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA. Although all employers are subject to USERRA, the Committee reviews nominations from employees annually and gives special recognition to those employers who go above and beyond the basic provisions of the law.
ITT was one of 600 Virginia companies/organizations nominated for the award, which was presented during the state’s 20th Annual ESGR Awards banquet at the Norfolk Naval Station Saturday, April 26. The Honorable John O. Marsh, former Secretary of the Army and U.S. Congressman from Virginia, was the keynote speaker.
ITT Industries Night Vision, based in Roanoke, VA, is the world’s leading developer, producer and supplier of Gen 3 night vision devices, specialty cameras, and high-voltage miniaturized power supplies for U.S. and allied military forces as well as Federal, state and local law enforcement. The company also offers night vision products for select commercial applications, such as outdoor recreation.
ITT Industries, Inc. (www.itt.com) supplies advanced technology products and services in key markets including: electronic interconnects and switches; defense communication, opto-electronics, information technology and services; fluid and water management and other specialty products. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, the company generated $4.99 billion in 2002 sales. In addition to the New York Stock Exchange, ITT Industries stock is traded on the Midwest, Pacific, London, Paris and Frankfurt exchanges
Call 800-448-8678 for more information for more information on night vision or visit ITT’s website: www.nightvision.com.
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