The Department of Defense has announced that Microsoft Corporation of Redmond will receive the 2009 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their outstanding support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

Microsoft was selected as one of only 15 employers from across the nation to receive a 2009 Freedom Award.

A record 3,200 National Guard and Reserve members or their family members from across the country nominated their supportive employers for the award.

The Freedom Award will be presented to Microsoft Corporation during a formal ceremony Thursday, September 17 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

Nominated by a technologist in Omaha, Neb., Microsoft was selected as a Freedom Award recipient for its outstanding support which includes providing National Guard and Reserve employees differential pay between their military pay and Microsoft salary during deployments; continuing employee and enrolled family members’ medical and life insurance benefits during deployments; creating a Military Reservist Council responsible for coordinating care packages to deployed employees overseas; providing a life-care guide to deploying service member employees and their families; and recognizing the military service of their employees through newsletters, official Microsoft publications and public events.

Microsoft has received numerous ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve) state awards for their support for National Guard and Reserve employees including several Patriot Awards, Above and Beyond Awards and a Pro Patria Award in 2004.

The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to recognize exceptional support from the employer community. Previous honorees include American Express, Chrysler, Sears, The Home Depot, the State of Tennessee and the family owned Augustine & Sons farm in Rose Hill, Iowa.

The other recipients of the 2009 Freedom Award are:

recipients are:

AeroDyn Wind Tunnel LLC – Mooresville, N.C.

AstraZeneca International – Wilmington, Del.

Cambridge, Mass. Fire Department – Cambridge, Mass.

Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc. – North Charleston, S.C.

First Data Corporation – Greenwood Village, Colo.

FMC Technologies – Houston, Tex.

Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Department – Jonesboro, La.

Marks, O’Neill, O’Brien & Courtney, P.C. – Wilmington, Del.

Mid America Kidney Stone Association – Kansas City, Mo.

NetJets – Woodbridge, N.J.

Ohio Department of Public Safety – Columbus, Ohio

Perpetual Technologies, Inc. – Indianapolis, Ind.

Santa Ana Police Department – Santa Ana, Calif.

TriWest Healthcare Alliance – Phoenix, Ariz.

More information about the Freedom Award is available at www.FreedomAward.mil or by calling the ESGR office at (800) 336-4590.