Eastman Partners with Army to Train Soldiers for Future Employment

Business Wire, July 12, 2007

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- Representatives of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command and Eastman Chemical Company have signed a partnership agreement that will provide priority hiring status to qualified returning soldiers who are participating in the Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program.

"The U.S. Army is excited to add Eastman to its team of corporate partners in the Partnership for Youth Success Program," said Lt. Col. Beth Porterfield, Commander, U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Beckley, the district headquarters for recruiting operations in eastern Tennessee, southern West Virginia, central and western Virginia and eastern Kentucky. "We are very proud of our partnerships, like this, that enable our recruiters to offer applicants quality employment opportunities during and after their Army service."

Colonel Norvel L. Dillard, Deputy Commander, U.S. Army 1st Recruiting Brigade, Fort Meade, Md., was on hand to sign the agreement with Norris Sneed, senior vice president, human resources, communications and public affairs for Eastman during a ceremony at Eastman's corporate headquarters. As deputy commander, Col. Dillard is responsible for recruiting new soldiers from the northeastern United States, from eastern Tennessee to Maine.

"At Eastman, our success depends on the quality men and women who work here," said Sneed. "That's why we are constantly searching for the best people we can find. We believe that partnering with the Army's PaYS program will be an asset in helping us recruit the highly qualified employees we need in the years to come."

PaYS is a strategic partnership program between the Army and a cross-section of U.S. corporations and public sector agencies. Eastman is the first chemical manufacturer to join the PaYS program.

PaYS was developed to help the Army attract, train and deploy talented young people who want to serve their country, but also want to help secure their future success once their Army service is complete.

Under terms of the agreement between the Army and Eastman, enlistees interested in gaining specific job training and qualifications will receive that training while in the U.S. Army. As part of the enlistment process, recruits sign a statement of understanding of their intent to work for Eastman (or their choice of partner) upon completion of their term of service. As they near the end of their enlistments, the soldiers will have the opportunity to interview with Eastman for a specific job at a specific location. The process is intended to take a participant from citizen to soldier to veteran to career employee.

The Army's list of corporate partners is growing. Eastman will be the newest of 218 PaYS partners consisting of 142 corporations including 36 Fortune 500, five Fortune 1000, and four Global 500 companies; and 76 public sector agencies. Partners include BellSouth, Caterpillar, HCA, EDS, Lockheed-Martin, Sears Logistics Services, State Farm Insurance, John Deere Company, Pepsi Bottling Group, Goodyear, DELL, and Southwest Airlines. Collectively these 218 organizations have loaded over 672,000 positions on the PaYS database for Regular Army soldiers and 174,000 positions for Army Reserve soldiers. The Regular Army program has over 44,000 soldiers who have enlisted with the PaYS program as part of their enlistment incentives. The Army Reserve program has provided an additional enlistment incentive to over 6,800 Army Reserve soldiers.

Eastman jobs are scheduled to be available in the Army's PaYS database soon so that soldiers will be able to find a job skill of their choosing. For more information, interested applicants may visit their local recruiter or log on to www.armypays.com.

"Each year thousands of young men and women develop valuable skills and gain experience in a broad spectrum of Army jobs," Porterfield said. "By the time they complete their Army service they are motivated, have professional work habits and have high standards of conduct. This partnership is one way we can help ensure our soldiers continue to achieve success after leaving the Army, and that American industry gains the benefits by gaining these quality employees."

About Eastman Chemical Company

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) manufactures and markets chemicals, fibers and plastics worldwide. It provides key differentiated coatings, adhesives and specialty plastics products; is the world's largest producer of PET polymers for packaging; and is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers. As a Responsible Care[R] company, Eastman is committed to achieving the highest standards of health, safety, environmental and security performance. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Kingsport, Tenn., Eastman is a FORTUNE 500 company with 2006 sales of $7.5 billion and approximately 11,000 employees. For more information about Eastman and its products, visit www.eastman.com.

About U.S. Army Recruiting Command

The U.S. Army Recruiting Command, headquartered at Fort Knox, Ky., recruits quality men and women to serve in the Army and Army Reserve. Approximately 8,000 soldiers and civilian employees conduct recruiting operations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and at U.S. facilities in Germany and Asia. The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Beckley, W.Va., conducts recruiting operations in more than 50-thousand square miles of West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. For more information on the PaYs program log-on to: http://armypays.com.