DoD Recognizes Top Employers For Military Support

ESGR Reports: 15 Exceptional Employers Receive Freedom Award, DoD's Highest Honor

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Aug 25, 2015, 03:44 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Defense recognized this year's 15 recipients of the 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award during a Pentagon ceremony Friday. The Freedom Award is the highest honor the department gives to employers for support of National Guard and Reserve employees.

Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work lauded the recipients for their support, saying their sacrifices helped make the military contributions by members of the National Guard and Reserve possible.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work presented the 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award to 15 exceptional employers during an Aug. 21 ceremony at the Pentagon. (U.S. Army photo by Alfredo Barraza)

Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work speaks to recipients of the 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award during an Aug. 21 ceremony at the Pentagon. (U.S. Army photo by Alfredo Barraza)

"These extraordinary contributions that [Guardsmen and Reservists] have provided could not have been made without the extraordinary support from the group of civilians and citizens, business leaders and employers, who have really allowed them to not be worried about coming back to a job."

Earlier Friday, the department unveiled a permanent display at the Pentagon honoring all past and present recipients of the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

The 2015 Freedom Award recipients included:

Employer	Location	Nominator's Branch of Service
Black Hills Corporation	Rapid City, SD	Army National Guard
Boise Fire Department	Boise, ID	Marine Corps Reserve
BP America, Inc.	Houston, TX	Army National Guard
Cardinal Health	Dublin, OH	Army National Guard
Cigna	Bloomfield, CT	Air National Guard
City of Glendale	Glendale, AZ	Navy Reserve
City of Shawnee	Shawnee, KS	Army Reserve
College of the Ozarks	Point Lookout, MO	Army National Guard
CVS Health	Woonsocket, RI	Air National Guard
Devon Energy	Oklahoma City, OK	Air National Guard
Dr. Joe A. Jackson, MD, PLLC	Biloxi, MS	Army National Guard
Neil, Dymott, Frank, McFall, Trexler, McCabe & Hudson APLC	San Diego, CA	Navy Reserve
Snell & Wilmer LLP	Phoenix, AZ	Marine Corps Reserve
Town of Hingham	Hingham, MA	Navy Reserve
Walt Disney Company	Burbank, CA	Air National Guard

The 2015 recipients were selected from 2,960 nominations received from Guardsmen and Reservists for going far beyond what the Federal law requires to support their military employees. The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to recognize exceptional support from the employer community. In the years since, 205 employers have been honored with the award.

To view the 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards Ceremony, visit https://www.dvidshub.net/video/420558.

For more information about the Freedom Award and this year's recipients, visit www.FreedomAward.mil. To learn more about ESGR, visit www.ESGR.mil.

For questions or interviews regarding the Freedom Award, contact ESGR Public Affairs, at [email protected] or by phone at (571) 372-0692.

CONTACT: Maj S.J. Brown
(571) 372-0692; [email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150825/260996

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150825/260997

SOURCE ESGR