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.

The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 by then-Secretary of Defense William Perry

William Perry

William James Perry is an American businessman and engineer who was the United States Secretary of Defense from February 3, 1994, to January 23, 1997, under President Bill Clinton...

 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is the lead Defense Department agency promoting cooperation and understanding between civilian employers and their National Guard and Reserve employees....

 (ESGR). ESGR is a Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 agency established in 1972 whose mission, according to its Web site, is to “gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 was signed into law by U.S. President Bill Clinton on October 13, 1994 to protect the civilian employment of non-full time military service members in the United States called to active duty...

, and resolving conflicts through mediation.” 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

Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness

The Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness, or USD is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the United States Department of Defense responsible for advising the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on recruitment, career development, pay and...

, the Army Vice Chief of Staff, and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the second highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces ranking just below the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...

. Since 1996, over 100 employers have received the Freedom Award.

Freedom Award Web site

In 2008, ESGR launched a Web site 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.

2011

• 3M Company
• Ameren Corporation
• Burt County Sheriff's Office
• CSX Transporation
• Electrical Contractors Inc.
• Ford Motor Company
  Ford Motor Company
  Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
  
  
• Hanson Professional Services Inc.
• Integrity Applications Incorporated
• Orange County Sheriff's Department
• Qwest Communications, now CenturyLink, Inc.
• St. John's Lutheran Church
• State Employees' Credit Union
• The Principal Financial Group
• Town of Gilbert
• Wells Fargo & Company

2010

• Bill Bragg Plumbing
• City of Irvine Police Department
• Dollar General Corporation
• East Carolina University
  East Carolina University
  East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
  
  
• Food Lion
  Food Lion
  Food Lion LLC is an American grocery store company headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina that operates approximately 1,300 supermarkets in 11 Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states as well as Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia under the Food Lion, Harveys Supermarket, Bloom, Bottom Dollar...
  
  
• Franklin's Printing
• Intuit Inc.
• Legacy Sports International
• Logistics Health Inc
• MERCK
• Michigan State Police
  Michigan State Police
  The Michigan State Police is the state police agency for the state of Michigan. The MSP is a full service law enforcement agency with its sworn members having full police powers statewide....
  
  
• Newmont Mining Corporation
• Southern Company
  Southern Company
  Southern Company is a public utility holding company of primarily electric utilities in the southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is currently the 16th largest utility company in the world and the...
  
  
• State of Hawaii
• Yerecic Label

2009

• Aerodyn Wind Tunnel LLC
• AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
• Cambridge Fire Department
• Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc.
• First Data Corporation
• FMC Technologies
  FMC Technologies
  FMC Technologies, Incorporated , is an American oil and gas equipment and services technology company. FMC Technologies was incorporated in 2000 when FMC Corporation divested its machinery businesses...
  
  
• Jackson Parish Sheriff's Department
• Marks, O'Neill, O'Brien & Courtney
• Microsoft Corporation
• Mid America Kidney Stone Association
• NetJets
  NetJets
  NetJets, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, offers fractional ownership and rental of private business jets.-History:NetJets Inc., formerly Executive Jet Aviation, was founded in 1964 as one of the first private business jet charter and aircraft management companies...
  
  
• Ohio Department of Public Safety
  Ohio Department of Public Safety
  The Ohio Department of Public Safety is a government agency in the U.S. state of Ohio. The Department is responsible for the protection and safety of residents and visitors.The Department of Public Safety's headquarters is located in Columbus, Ohio....
  
  
• Perpetual Technologies, Inc.
• Santa Ana Police Department
• TriWest Healthcare Alliance
  TriWest Healthcare Alliance
  TriWest Healthcare Alliance is a Phoenix, Arizona based corporation with a single line of business providing health benefits under the United States Department of Defense TRICARE program in the 21-state TRICARE West Region.-History:...
  
  

2008

• Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
  Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
  The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland comprising twelve tribal districts. The Choctaw Nation maintains a special relationship with both the United States and Oklahoma governments...
  
  
• 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
  Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC
  Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP, established in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1876, is one of the largest business law firms in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States...
  
  

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
• Nucor Corporation
• Sierra Pacific Resources
  Sierra Pacific Resources
  NV Energy is an investor-owned holding company based in Las Vegas, Nevada.The company is a public utility which generates, transmits and distributes electric service in northern and southern Nevada, including the Las Vegas metropolitan area, and provides natural gas service in the Reno–Sparks...
  
  
• Sodexho USA
• The New Hampshire State Police
  New Hampshire State Police
  The New Hampshire State Police is a state police agency within the Department of Safety of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Police employees of the State Police are ex officio constables and have the primary role of patrolling the state highways, enforcing the laws and regulations of the highway...
  
  
• The State of Tennessee
  Tennessee
  Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
  
  
• Turbocam International
• Ultra Machining Company, Inc.
• Wilmington, VA, Medical Center

2006

• AgCountry Farm Credit Services
• Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
• Baptist Health
  Baptist Health
  Baptist Health, based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a network of five hospitals, affiliated with 34 primary care offices located throughout Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia...
  
  
• BNSF Railway Company
• Cardi's Furniture Superstores
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• Computer Sciences Corporation
  Computer Sciences Corporation
  Computer Sciences Corporation is an American information technology and business services company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, USA...
  
  
• DuPont
  DuPont
  E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
  
  
• Fred Fletemeyer Company
• MGM Mirage
  MGM Mirage
  Not to be confused with the Las Vegas, Nevada based casino/resort operator Resorts International Holdings.MGM Resorts International is a Paradise, Nevada based corporation that brands itself as a global hospitality company. It is the second largest gaming company in the world by revenue - about...
  
  
• Skyline Membership Corporation
• South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
• Starbucks Corporation
• State of Vermont
  Vermont
  Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
  
  
• Sun Valley General Improvement District

2005

• Alticor, Inc.link title
• Citizens Financial Group
  Citizens Financial Group
  Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is an American bank headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, which operates in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Citizens is a wholly owned...
  
  
• Eaton Corporation
  Eaton Corporation
  Eaton Corporation is a global diversified power management company with 2010 sales of $13.7 billion. The company is a leading provider of electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment;...
  
  
• Enterprise Rent-a-Car
  Enterprise Rent-A-Car
  Enterprise Holdings, Inc. is a privately held company formed in 2009 to operate rental car subsidiaries: Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, Alamo Rent A Car, WeCar and its commercial fleet management, used car sales, and commercial truck rental operations.Enterprise Holdings was formed as...
  
  
• IDACORP
  Idacorp
  IDACORP, Inc is an electricity holding company, incorporated in Idaho with headquarters in Boise, Idaho. It comprises Idaho Power Company, IDACORP Financial and Ida-West Energy. It was formed October 1, 1998....
  
  
• Los Angeles Police Department
  Los Angeles Police Department
  The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
  
  
• Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections
  Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections
  The Department of Public Safety and Corrections is a state agency of Louisiana, headquartered in Baton Rouge. The agency comprises two major areas: Public Safety Services and Corrections Services. The Secretary, who is appointed by the Governor, serves as the Department's chief executive officer...
  
  
• Pioneer Financial Services, Inc.
• Ryland Homes
  Ryland Homes
  Ryland Homes is the United States' 9th-largest developer and home-builder. The builder, based in Calabasas, California, has built over 285,000 homes across the United States since its inception, focusing primarily on first-time homebuyers and first- and second-time moveup buyers...
  
  
• Sears, Roebuck and Company
  Sears, Roebuck and Company
  Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
  
  
• South Dakota State University
  South Dakota State University
  South Dakota State University is the largest university in the U.S. state of South Dakota, located in Brookings. A public land-grant university and sun grant college, founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act, SDSU offers programs of study required by, or harmonious to, this Act...
  
  
• State of Delaware
  Delaware
  Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
  
  
• Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
  Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
  Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. is the Toyota sales, marketing, and distribution subsidiary devoted to the U.S. market. Founded in 1957 in California, TMS currently employs more than 6,500 people...
  
  
• USAA
  USAA
  United Services Automobile Association is a Fortune 500 financial services company offering banking, investing, and insurance to people and families that serve, or served, in the United States military. In 2011, there were 8.4 million members. The company reported a net worth of $19.3 billion in...
  
  
• Wachovia Corporation

2004

• Adolph Coors Company
  Adolph Coors Company
  The Golden, Colorado Adolph Coors Company was formerly a holding company controlled by the heirs of founder Adolph Coors. Its principal subsidiary is the Coors Brewing Company. It was founded in 1873....
  
  
• American Express Company
• Bank One Corporation
  Bank One Corporation
  Some of the banks that were merged into these banks include:*Bank One**Security National Bank & Trust **Affiliated Bankshares of Colorado **American Fletcher Corp. **City National Bank and Trust Co...
  
  
• Colt Fire Safety and Rescue
• General Electric Company
• Harley-Davidson, Inc.
• The Home Depot
  The Home Depot
  The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
  
  
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
• The State of Minnesota
• Northrop Grumman Corporation
• One Source Building Technologies
• Saints Memorial Medical Center
• Sprint Corporation
• Strategic Solutions, Inc.
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

2003

• Central Atlantic Toyota Distribution Center
• D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co.
• Miller Brewing Company
  Miller Brewing Company
  The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
  
  
• PG&E Corporation
• Tyson Foods, Inc.

2002

• Public Service Company of New Hampshire
• General Dynamics Corporation
• Autoliv, Inc.
• State of Wyoming
  Wyoming
  Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
  
  
• United Parcel Service Airlines

2001

• BAE Systems
  BAE Systems
  BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
  
  
• Electronic Data Systems
  Electronic Data Systems
  HP Enterprise Services is the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard's HP Enterprise Business strategic business unit. It was formed by the combination of HP's legacy services consulting and outsourcing business and the integration of acquired Electronic Data Systems,...
  
  
• Southwest Airlines, Inc.
• The Boeing Company
  Boeing
  The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
  
  
• The City of Bedford, Virginia
  Bedford, Virginia
  Bedford is an independent city located within the confines of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 6,222. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bedford with surrounding Bedford...
  
  

2000

• American Express
  American Express
  American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
  
  
• Framatome Connectors USA
• Intel Corporation
  Intel Corporation
  Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
  
  
• Midwest Express Airlines
• Technology Concepts and Design

1999

• British Nuclear Fuels Limited, Inc.
  BNFL
  British Nuclear Fuels Limited was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a former manufacturer and transporter of nuclear fuel , ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel , and decommissioned nuclear plants and other similar...
  
  
• General Fire and Safety Equipment Company, Inc.
• Hitchiner Manufacturing Co., Inc.
• Kaiser Permanente, Northwest
• The State of Louisiana
  Louisiana
  Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
  
  

1998

• American Airlines
  American Airlines
  American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
  
  
• American Family Mutual Insurance Company
• CSX Transportation, Inc.
• Portland Police Bureau
  Portland Police Bureau
  The Portland Police Bureau is the law enforcement agency of the City of Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. While oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City Commissioners, the Mayor has historically been assigned to the Police Bureau as the police...
  
  
• Wiremold Company

1997

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

1996

• Schneider National
  Schneider National
  Schneider National, Inc. is the largest privately owned truckload carrier in North America. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the company maintains 23 regional operating centers in the United States. The company was founded in 1938 by A.J. Schneider....
  
  
• McDonnell Douglas
• United Parcel Service, Central Florida District
• Tektronix, Inc.
• National Life of Vermont

Sources

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

External links

• Freedom Award Web site
• Freedom Award nomination form
• White House photo of 2008 recipients in the Oval Office with President Bush
• Human Events Online article on 2008 dinner ceremony