Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. To be eligible for the award, an employer must be nominated by one of its Guard or Reserve employees, or a family member of that employee.

Freedom Award Statue

The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 by then-Secretary of Defense William Perry under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). ESGR is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972 whose mission, according to its website, is to "gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflicts through mediation."[1] The award was created to recognize the ways the nation's employers support their Guard and Reserve employees, and is the highest in a series of ESGR awards that include the Patriot Award, the Above and Beyond Award, and the Pro Patria Award.

A senior Defense Department official presents the awards at a dinner ceremony in Washington, DC; past presenters have included the Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Army Vice Chief of Staff, and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since 1996, over 100 employers have received the Freedom Award.

Freedom Award website

In 2008, ESGR launched a website for the Freedom Award. Using videos, news articles, profiles of recipients, and tips about employer best practices, the site provides information about the support that employers across the nation provide to their Guard and Reserve employees and their families. The site also houses the nomination form for the award.

Recipients

2012

2011
  • 3M Company
  • Ameren Corporation
  • Burt County Sheriff's Office
  • CSX Transportation
  • Electrical Contractors Inc.
  • Ford Motor Company
  • Hanson Professional Services Inc.
  • Integrity Applications Incorporated
  • Orange County Sheriff's Department
  • The Principal Financial Group
  • Qwest Communications, now CenturyLink, Inc.
  • St. John's Lutheran Church
  • State Employees' Credit Union
  • Town of Gilbert
  • Wells Fargo & Company

2010

2009
  • Aerodyn Wind Tunnel LLC
  • AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
  • Cambridge Fire Department
  • Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc.
  • First Data Corporation
  • FMC Technologies
  • Jackson Parish Sheriff's Department
  • Marks, O'Neill, O'Brien & Courtney
  • Microsoft Corporation
  • Mid America Kidney Stone Association
  • NetJets
  • Ohio Department of Public Safety
  • Perpetual Technologies, Inc.
  • Santa Ana Police Department
  • TriWest Healthcare Alliance

2008
  • Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
  • Chrysler LLC
  • City of Austin, Texas
  • Coastal Windows, Inc.
  • Dominion Resources Inc.
  • Jersey City Fire Department
  • Lochinvar Corporation
  • Oakland County Sheriff’s Office
  • Oshkosh Corporation
  • Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority
  • Robinson Transport, Inc.
  • State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
  • Union Pacific Corporation
  • Winner School District
  • Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC

2007
  • Augustine and Sons, Inc.
  • CHE Consulting, Inc.
  • Con-way, Inc.
  • Creative Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
  • Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.
  • Ganntt's Excavating and Contracting, Inc.
  • General Motors Corporation
  • The New Hampshire State Police
  • Nucor Corporation
  • Sierra Pacific Resources
  • Sodexho USA
  • The State of Tennessee
  • Turbocam International
  • Ultra Machining Company, Inc.
  • Wilmington, VA Medical Center

2006
Mitt Romney receiving the award on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2006
  • AgCountry Farm Credit Services
  • Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
  • Baptist Health
  • BNSF Railway Company
  • Cardi's Furniture Superstores
  • Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • Computer Sciences Corporation
  • DuPont
  • Fred Fletemeyer Company
  • MGM Mirage
  • Skyline Membership Corporation
  • South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
  • Starbucks Corporation
  • State of Vermont
  • Sun Valley General Improvement District

2005

2004

2003
  • Central Atlantic Toyota Distribution Center
  • D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co.
  • Miller Brewing Company
  • PG&E Corporation
  • Tyson Foods, Inc.

2002
  • Autoliv, Inc.
  • General Dynamics Corporation
  • Public Service Company of New Hampshire
  • State of Wyoming
  • United Parcel Service Airlines

2001

2000
  • American Express
  • Framatome Connectors USA
  • Intel Corporation
  • Midwest Express Airlines
  • Technology Concepts and Design

1999

1998

1997
  • Charles Machine Works, Inc.
  • East Penn Manufacturing Co.
  • Entec Services, Inc.
  • Fred Meyer, Inc.
  • The Home Depot, Southeastern Division

1996

Sources

This article contains information from a U.S. Government website in the public domain.

References
  1. "About ESGR". ESGR.org. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
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