Content Manager posted on November 10, 2009 21:39
December 2009 Navy
by Maj. Andra Duskie
The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is celebrating 15 years of recognizing outstanding employers of Guardsmen and Reservists. The Freedom Award is the U.S. Government’s highest recognition given to employers who provide outstanding support to their employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve and their families. It is the highest in a series of employer recognition awards given by the Department of Defense who annually honors up to 15 employers with the award. The open nomination season for the 2010 Freedom Award began November 2, 2009 and runs through January 18, 2010.
All employers, both large and small are encouraged to support their employees’ commitment to military service. An employer may choose to continue health care benefits for soldiers’ families while the soldier is deployed. An act of kindness such as offering to cut the lawn for a deployed member’s spouse is another way the employer can show support. And while all employer support is exemplary, employers who go “above and beyond” the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to assist their employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve deserve special recognition.
One such company receiving the Freedom Award in 2009, was AeroDyn Wind Tunnel, a small business based in Mooresville, NC, consisting of less than 100 employees. AeroDyn Wind Tunnel employee and North Carolina Army National Guard Soldier, Sergeant Michael Scaglione, nominated his employer stating that, “the employees of AeroDyn have become my family. All pay and benefits, including raises, are continued whether I am in training or deployed.”
The company specializes in wind tunnel testing for automotive racing. Five of AeroDyn Wind Tunnel’s 21 employees have served or are serving in the military. Employer support of the military is a company policy, detailed in AeroDyn Wind Tunnel’s “Commitment to Guardsmen, Reservists and their Families” section of their employee handbook.
The company offers outstanding support to its activated National Guard and Reserve employees and their families by providing differential pay during deployment; continued employee and enrolled family members’ medical and life insurance benefits during active duty. The company also provides ongoing support and contact via video, phone calls and emails between the deployed employee and their family.
Prior to the Sgt. Scaglione’s deployment, AeroDyn Wind Tunnel closed its 24-hour business for an entire night so that all employees and their spouses could attend a boat cruise to bid him farewell. Upon notification of the award, Sgt. Scaglione was home on mid-tour leave. The company assisted him in extending his leave and paid for his travel and lodging in D.C. to be a part of the celebration. AeroDyn Wind Tunnel actively recruits Guardsmen and Reservists because of their values, education, training, leadership skills and teamwork.
The 2010 Freedom Award recipients will be announced early next summer and honored at a black-tie gala ceremony at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. on September 23, 2010. Recipients of the 2009 Freedom Award met with President Barack Obama, and Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. Dr. Jill Biden, Deputy Secretary of Defense, William J. Lynn III, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Dennis McCarthy presented the awards at a ceremony attended by members of Congress and senior government and military officials.
To nominate your employer for the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, visit www.FreedomAward.mil. Service members or family members are eligible to nominate their employers.
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972. The mission of ESGR is to gain and maintain employer support for National Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflict through mediation. For additional ESGR information, you can visit the ESGR website, or call Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve at 800-336-4590.