Two Bosses, One Employee, Sharing the Talent

Maj. Gen. Peter S. Cooke and Mr. Keith O. Rattie “shake on it” after signing a formal partnership between Questar Gas and the U.S. Army Reserve. (Army Reserve photo by Master Sgt. Stephen H. Leitch)

SALT LAKE CITY - The U.S. Army Reserve and Questar Gas agreed to work collaboratively to develop long-term staffing solutions for America's Soldiers and veterans. The partnership, launched under the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative (EPI), allows both organizations to recruit, train and employ individuals interested in serving the nation and pursuing careers in diverse business industries within Questar Gas.

Keith O. Rattie, chairman, president, and CEO of Questar Gas, and Maj. Gen. Peter S. Cooke, commander of the 96th Regional Readiness Command, signed the agreement Tuesday. The agreement will allow the Army Reserve to post Questar Gas job vacancies to the job portal on the Army Reserve Web site making it easier for skill rich Reserve Soldier to apply for jobs with Questar Gas.

"It is important to not just talk about supporting, but to actually support those who have and are wearing the uniform," Rattie said, and promised that under his direction Questar will nurture this partnership to make the bonds even stronger.

Questar currently employs a number of Army Reserve Soldiers and maintains a deep commitment to hiring and supporting the brave men and women who protect and defend America. These Warrior-Citizens have a well-earned reputation as exemplary employees with proven leadership skills, are team oriented, and exhibit discipline and grace under pressure, all attributes that are immeasurably valuable to any organization.

Through EPI, the Army Reserve is partnering with business leaders such as Questar Corporation to develop staffing solutions to meet America's industry demands, tackle the issue of workforce preparedness, and reinvigorate America's human talent. This will allow both the Army Reserve and America's business leaders to remain competitive in the global economy by encouraging professional and high-quality employees to enlist in the Army Reserve and encouraging active Army Soldiers who are looking at their options and Army Reserve Soldier to pursue a career with Questar.

It's an initiative close to Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief, Army Reserve and commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve Command, who created the Employer Partnership Initiative.

"It's really a human capital strategy, where we're looking at what are the needs of employers of America: what kind of skill sets, what kind of quality, what kind of attributes. We look for those same quality skills and attributes, and why don't we share those? We share the training, because I put them through a lot of training, in terms of technical training, as well as leadership training," Stultz said of the initiative. "When we have a Soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan, they're not only using their military skills, in a lot cases they're using their business skills."

Stultz gave the example of a senior military leader who was in Iraq on his last tour – about a year ago.

"The portion of Iraq he was working in was heavily unemployed. He said we have about 600 people working locally here and took some of our civil affairs guys and put them to work down there with the people. He said by the time they left, they had 6,000 employees. They were building fish tanks, trailers, and they were teaching them Internet marketing. Where do you think they learned that?" Stultz asked. "The military didn't teach them that, their business skills kicked in. They said we're going to teach these people how to build a business. The senior leader said, "I walk the streets without any flack vest on, because everybody's working and happy.

"That's partnership."