U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is asking members of Missouri’s National Guard and Reserves to nominate exemplary employers for an award that recognizes their support and commitment to their employees serving the nation as members of the Guard and Reserves.

Guard and Reserve members, or a family member acting on their behalf, may nominate their employers at www.FreedomAward.mil. The deadline to nominate is January 16.

The Department of Defense sponsors the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award as part of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) program. Nominations for the department’s highest recognition for civilian employers who have supported Guard and Reserve members are open to all employers—large, small, private and public—for only a short time longer.

“This is an opportunity to recognize Missouri employers who have been a critical component in giving our brave men and women the support they need to serve our nation,” said McCaskill, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Members of the U.S. Armed Forces have been actively deployed for more than a decade, and we all owe them our thanks for the sacrifices they and their families have made. ”

“Fortunately, many employers go above and beyond in supporting their employees who are serving in the Guard and Reserves, and those employers should be recognized for doing what’s right,” McCaskill said,

McCaskill has been a strong advocate for the ESGR program as a means to support the service of members of the Guard and Reserves.

Last October, McCaskill arranged a statewide conference call with ESGR representatives, the Missouri National Guard, and employers in Missouri to help find solutions and identify ways to give our Guardsman and Reservists more support. McCaskill also herself proudly supports the Guard as an employer with a member of her own Senate team serving in the Washington, D.C., Army National Guard.