The Jersey City Fire Department of New Jersey ensures the USERRA statute is included in Fire and Emergency Services’ union contracts and all managers and supervisors are trained in handling quick turn-around deployments. The department’s members raised $6,000 to issue 30,000 phone card minutes to their military co-workers serving in Iraq and their unit members as well.
While a department captain was deployed, personnel collected gifts for his children and for the children of all the service members in is unit. “I have been deployed twice to Iraq, during my deployment the Jersey City Fire Department showed me, my family and my fellow Marines more support than I would ever have expected,” said nominator Marine Corps Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 2 Leonard DiStaso.