Employees serving in Iraq won’t have to worry about pay

By Lori Wright, Media Relations

UNH employees serving in Iraq will not have to worry about a cut in pay.

The USNH Board of Trustees has approved a pay differential for employees on extended active service whose military pay is less than what they would have received in UNH wages had they not been called to service.

The policy extends the system’s military leave policy, which already provides that a faculty or staff member will have a job when they return from serving the country. It is in line with benefits afforded to state employees serving in Iraq, which was supported by Gov. Craig Benson.

Scott Lindquist, an air conditioning refrigeration systems technician in UNH’s energy department, served in Saudi Arabia from December 2001 to April 2002, as part of his duties with the Air National Guard.
He was stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base.

His monthly base military pay is $200 to $300 less than his monthly pay at UNH, although when he was deployed in Saudi Arabia, the Air Force implemented additional pay benefits that took his monthly Air Force salary slightly above his UNH paycheck.

Still, for many reservists, being deployed means a cut in pay.

“Supplemental pay is a very important step. Knowing that your family has enough money to cover the bills when you’re deployed is one less thing to worry about. In my view, supplemental pay in a way lets me know that you care about me and my family,” Lindquist said.

Although most of the stress when deployed has to do with being overseas and unfamiliar with a foreign country, Lindquist said knowing that one’s family is okay financially helps service people to focus on their military duties. “There are lots of things that affect troop morale, but these new policies will help a great deal,” he said.