ARLINGTON, Va., - Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
(ESGR), a Department of Defense agency, today announced the opening of the
nomination season for the 2011 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom
Award.
Guard and Reserve service members and their families are encouraged to
nominate employers who have provided exceptional support of military
employees above federal law requirements. Nominations are being accepted at
www.FreedomAward.mil through January 17, 2011.
The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest
recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for the outstanding
support of their employees serving in the Guard and Reserve.
The 2011 recipients will be announced in the spring and honored at the 16th
annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony in
Washington, D.C., on Sept. 22, 2011. Recipients of the 2010 Freedom Award
met privately with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates while in Washington, D.C.
Under Secretary of Defense, Chief Financial Officer Robert Hale and
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Dennis McCarthy presented
the awards at a ceremony attended by members of Congress, senior military
officials, business leaders and the Guard and Reserve service members who
nominated the award recipients.
Almost one-half of the U.S. military is comprised of the Guard and Reserve.
The Department of Defense shares these citizen warriors with their civilian
employers, many of whom provide significant support to their employees who
serve in the Guard and Reserve.
The 2010 recipients included CEOs from seven large American corporations, a
governor, a mayor, a state police director, the chancellor of a university,
and four small business owners. These and past recipients of the Freedom
Award provide an outstanding range of support to these shared employees,
including maintaining their full salary, continuation of benefits, providing
care packages and family assistance to employees fulfilling their military
obligation.
The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of ESGR to
recognize exceptional support from the employer community. "Every day we
hear of employers providing outstanding support to the men and women serving
in our Guard and Reserve and to their families," said Jim Rebholz, ESGR
national chairman. "Now, more than ever, we encourage these service members
to show their appreciation by formally nominating their employers for this
most prestigious award."
ESGR is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972 whose mission is
to develop and promote employer support for Guard and Reserve service by
advocating relevant initiatives, recognizing outstanding support, increasing
awareness of applicable laws, and resolving conflict between employers and
service members.
For questions regarding the Freedom Award nomination process, please visit
www.FreedomAward.milor email atESGR-PA@osd.mil.