Local Texas police department selected finalist in SecDef Freedom Award

  • Published
  • By MSgt. Joshua Woods
  • 301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas --  "Alongside our Reservists and National Guard members, the employers who put them to work provide extraordinary support and flexibility," said President Barack Obama during the Secretary of Defense's Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony reception in 2013.

The SecDef Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest annual recognition our government presents to employers who exemplify outstanding support to our Guard and Reserve members.

One of several finalists selected for the 2015 annual award was our own local Arlington, Texas, Police Department, nominated by Senior Master Sgt. Kelly Velder, 301st Security Forces Squadron police officer.

Although the police department was not selected, according to Owens, it was a testament of their leadership and deployment support which excelled them through the state review process and selected them as one of the few finalists for the award.

"It's not only the city, the department and the leadership of the Arlington Police Department that moved them forward in the selection process, it's the story of how MSgt. Velder's fellow officers came together to support him and his family during the deployment that made the police department stand apart from the majority of other public sector nominees," Owens continued.

Each state ESGR committee reviews their Freedom Award nominations and recommends to their respective state chair one nomination between three categories: large employer (more than 500 employees), small employer (less than 500 employees) and public sector.

"This past year nearly 3,000 nominations were submitted from across the nation. Texas received 224 nominations for 189 separate organizations. Of those nominated from Texas, the Fort Worth area had 24 nominations and Dallas had 41," said Gary Owens, program support specialist for Texas Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

The 2016 nomination process for the next award begins Oct. 1 and runs through Dec. 31 this year and the "fill-in-the-bubble" application can be found on their website at www.esgr.mil.