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Immediate Release

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to Present Employer Support Freedom Award

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will award the 2016 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award to 15 companies at a ceremony in the Pentagon auditorium on Aug. 26 at 10 a.m. EDT.

The award is the highest honor the department gives to employers for support of National Guard and Reserve employees. More information is available at: www.freedomaward.mil.

The secretary will honor: Alaska Airlines, the Albuquerque Police Department, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, the Burford Corporation, Carolina’s Healthcare System, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Delmarva Veteran Builders, FASTSIGNS International, Inc., Hope Valley Industries, the Idaho State Police, Lowe’s, the Maryland State Police, Prairie Grove Consolidated School District 46, the Seattle Fire Department and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

Journalists who do not regularly cover the Pentagon should RSVP by noon, Tuesday, Aug. 23, by contacting Eric Pahon at eric.j.pahon.civ@mail.mil or (703) 614-1220. 

Foreign journalists without a Pentagon building pass must plan on being escorted from the River Entrance Pedestrian Bridge only, or, if arriving at the Pentagon Metro Entrance Facility, must contact 703-697-5131 a minimum of one hour prior to your arrival. Please arrive no later than 1 hour before the briefing if coming by Metro. U.S. journalists without a Pentagon building pass will be picked up at the River Entrance Pedestrian Bridge or the Pentagon Metro Visitors Entrance only. If arriving by Metro, please contact 703-697-5131 a minimum of one hour prior to your arrival, and plan to arrive no later than 45 minutes before the event; have proof of affiliation and photo identification. Please call 703-697-5131 for escort into the building. The briefing will also be streamed live on www.defense.gov and https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/9240.