INDEPENDENCE, MO. ? Jacques Smith was out of the sight of his colleagues at M&I Bank during his National Guard stint in Iraq, but he was never far from their minds.

During his 560 days on active duty, the bank continued paying the difference between his regular salary and his National Guard pay. Co-workers also provided a Web cam for Smith’s family, so that his wife and three children could see him as they kept in touch.

“Having some of these things be provided to me and to my family just allowed me to focus on my job over there,” said Smith, a Lee’s Summit resident who is a vice president in M&I’s business banking division.

“If I’m constantly worrying about how we are going to pay the bills back home, then I can’t focus on what I’m doing,” he said. “My job over there doesn’t allow for that.”

Smith is a first lieutenant with the Nebraska National Guard and was a scout platoon leader in charge of 22 Guardsmen in Iraq. He was called to active duty in November 2004 and mobilized in January 2005, returning to work in August of this year.

Employers have no legal obligation to pay the salaries of National Guard and reserve members who are away on duty.

But Pam Berneking, M&I Bank regional president, said paying Smith’s salary was consistent with the company’s value of treating others as they would like to be treated.

“We try to look at each situation as a unique situation, and it was just obvious to all of us that the right thing to do for Jacques and his family was go above and beyond what was required and do what we thought was the right thing,” Berneking said.

Smith said his family’s situation would have been more difficult had the bank not been generous.

“You go from making a salary and a living – and people budget around that,” Smith said. “Then all the sudden with your military commitment you get called to duty and have to pay the same amount of bills with less money.”

Co-workers also checked in on his wife, Tara, and their children – Cody, 8, Laikyn, 5, and Olivia, 4 – and supported them in a variety of ways, such as mowing the lawn and attending Cody’s sporting events.

“It shows to other employers that the commitment families and the soldier makes is a very big commitment,” Smith said. “Offering benefits such as those have a very big impact on both the family and that soldier and their loyalty to that company.”

At a recent ceremony, Smith showed his appreciation by presenting the bank a flag that he had flown over his camp in Ramadi.

Members of Smith’s unit and his interpreters attended the event, where representatives of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve presented the bank an “Above and Beyond” award for the assistance they gave Smith and his family.