Colt Safety Fire and Rescue, a small business made up of 13 employees, received the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award in 2004. At the time, two of the company’s 13 employees were Guard and Reserve members. One of the Reservists has worked for the company since 1996 and he was called up for duty to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois shortly after receiving a significant promotion within the company.

Southwest Airlines, a Freedom Award recipient in 2001, currently has more than 700 employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve. Each time a Southwest Airlines’ employee is called to active duty, a member of the company’s Internal Customer Care (ICC) team immediately jumps into action. The ICC team takes on the responsibility of sharing the “LUV” (symbol on the NY Stock Exchange) of the Southwest family by sending deployed members a care package that includes items such as posters, magazines, lip balm, a Southwest Airlines cap, an “Armed with LUV” T-shirt, alarm clock, postcards, and mints.

A recipient of the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award in 2005, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections continues its support of the Guard and Reserve in numerous ways.