Pentagon Honors Exceptional Employers of Citizen-Servicemembers

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Sept. 19, 2008 - Fifteen employers accepted a Defense Department award last night for their exceptional financial and emotional support of National Guard and Reserve members on their payrolls. The recipients were selected from the nearly 2,200 employers nominated for the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the U.S. government's highest recognition for efforts made in the civilian lives of America's citizen-servicemembers, which make up roughly half of the nation's armed forces.

Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, said 650,000 National Guard and reserve members have mobilized since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Currently, 110,000 are on active duty around the world.

"This evening is about the young men and women serving today, and I have said in many places and many times the World War Two generation will always be the greatest generation," Hall said at the award ceremony last night. "But ladies and gentleman, what we're seeing today is what history will record as the next greatest generation.

"They're fighting and dying for their country, and they will never fail us," he told the audience. "And to the employers: they simply could not serve without your support."

Robert Nardelli, chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler, accepted the award on behalf of the Detroit-based automaker. Chrysler, which employs thousands of National Guardsmen and reservists that include about 70 on active duty, continues providing salaries and benefits to employees who deploy.

"Many times I'm asked, 'Gee Bob, isn't that an expense to the company to have to cover these people, fill the gaps, make up their pay, continue their benefits?'" Nardelli said at the Pentagon yesterday. "And my answer is, 'This isn't an expense, it's an investment in our country.'"

One employee who nominated Chrysler for the award was Navy Reserve Petty Officer 2nd Class Theresa Jones, who has spent two years away from work fulfilling her reserve duties. In addition to providing pay and benefits, the Chrysler Veterans Committee collects items and sends comfort packages to deployed employees and other servicemembers.

"The fact that Chrysler made up my pay was a huge help, because I don't think I could have made it financially without them," she said. "It was so nice to receive care packages from my colleagues at Chrysler while I was serving in Iraq. They even sent me a microwave so we could pop our own popcorn!"

Chrysler's chief executive described such citizen-servicemembers as great employees. "They were great before they were called to active duty, and I think they come back with an unbelievable perspective about commitment, about teamwork, about responsibility, [and] how blessed we are to live in this country," Nardelli said.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England greeted the ESGR award recipients at the Pentagon. England, who held top positions in the private sector prior to his tenure in public service, told awardees their efforts, in part, are responsible for improving the economic health of Iraq.

By offering support to citizen-servicemembers who have deployed to Iraq, England said, employers are contributing to increasing the number of security forces there. Improved security often predicates a healthier economy, he said.

Foreign investment in Iraq is one of his most trusted measures of success, England said. If industry coffers are willing to put capital in the country as has been predicted in recent reports, he said, investors have therefore deemed that the potential gains outweigh the potential risks.

Ahead of their scheduled meetings with President Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney this morning, England told the guests, "You are going to meet more important people than me, but you won't meet anyone more appreciative of what you do."

Delivering the keynote speech at the award ceremony last night was Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig R. McKinley, director of the Air National Guard. The president has recommended McKinley to be the next chief of the National Guard Bureau and for a promotion that would make him the first four-star general in National Guard and reserve history, if confirmed by Congress.

"Without your support, these young men and women could not keep their lives in balance," he told the employers of their commitment. "Because when you're a reservist or a member of the [National Guard], you have three great stressors.

"You have your family, and they should always come first ... They have their jobs -- you are their employers -- they have to make sure that they keep that in balance," he said. "And then we ask so much of the young men and women who take the oath of enlistment, that if they keep those things in balance, we will continue to serve the United States of America."

This year's recipients are:

-- Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Durant, Okla.
-- Chrysler LLC, Auburn Hills, Mich.
-- City of Austin, Austin, Texas
-- Coastal Windows, Inc., Waipahu, Hawaii
-- Dominion Resources, Inc., Richmond, Va.
-- Jersey City Fire Department, Jersey City, N.J.
-- Lochinvar Corporation, Lebanon, Tenn.
-- Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Pontiac, Mich.
-- Oshkosh Corporation, Oshkosh, Wis.
-- Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, Reno, Nev.
-- Robinson Transport, Inc., Salina, Utah
-- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., Bloomington, Ill.
-- Union Pacific Corporation, Omaha, Neb.
-- Winner School District, Winner, S.D.
-- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Michigan Sheriff's Office Earns Award for Military Support

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 27, 2008 - In Oakland County, Mich., every day is Veterans Day, thanks to strong military support from Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. The department is one of 15 organizations receiving the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for outstanding support of its employees in the National Guard or Reserve. The department also is a co-recipient of the 2008 Michigan Employer Support Guard or Reserve Pro Patria Award.

Initiatives such as the "Every Day is Veterans Day" campaign launched by Bouchard's department and other local organizations are a testament of the department's respect and efforts to support military veterans.

The department is the first Michigan law enforcement agency to partner with the Army in the "Partnership for Youth Success Program," which actively recruits armed forces members for employment. Because of the program and other initiatives, a number of reserve-component servicemembers, including 12 deputies, now work for the sheriff's department.

Servicemembers welcomed into the department's work force are provided the difference between their military pay and their sheriff's department salary and full benefits for themselves and their families throughout their military career.

Deploying employees are given laptop computers purchased by the department for their personal use, while the department provides employees returning from deployments 10 days of paid time off in appreciation for their service.

The department also remembers its employees who were injured in combat. Employees recovering from wounds and undergoing rehabilitation continue to receive benefits and support from the department.

Bouchard recently was recognized by the Michigan Army National Guard with the Michigan Distinguished Service Medal for his exceptional support to deputy sheriff and Army Sgt. James McKelvey and his family while McKelvey recovered from injuries suffered during a deployment to Iraq.

Bouchard personally visited McKelvey on multiple occasions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, and provided weekly updates of his recuperation to the department as well.

"It's been an honor and privilege to work for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office," said Shawn Wilson, who also is a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve corporal. "They continue to be a tremendous support system to the individuals who are deployed around the world and their families."

Whether employees are deployed or at weekend and annual drills, they feel they are able to concentrate more on their military missions and obligations and worry less about their families because of the high level of support the department provides, Wilson said.

"Knowing that our families are taken care of at home allows us to more effectively focus on the mission at hand," he said. "I will always be in debt to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and its employees for providing my family with the assistance they did while I was deployed."

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office will receive the Freedom Award along with 14 other companies in a ceremony Sept. 18 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center here. The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to recognize exceptional support from the employer community.