News

Wing receives ESGR Seven Seals Award

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Alyssa Hudyma
  • 446th Airlift Wing
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  During the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve annual awards presentation, the 446th Airlift ‘Rainier’ Wing was presented the Seven Seals Award by Washington ESGR State Chairman John Patterson.

The Seven Seals Award is the broadest and most inclusive award given by ESGR. It is presented in recognition of significant individual or organizational achievement, initiative, or support that promotes and supports the ESGR mission.

The Rainier Wing partners with ESGR to put together Employer Orientation Days to educate employers on what their Traditional Reservist does on drill weekend. Recently, the wing put together an employer day that showcased the wing’s mission through a mock pre-deployment brief, deployment processing line and C-17 Globemaster III airdrop mission.

“Having the privilege to present this award to such a dedicated organization is extremely rewarding,” said Patterson.

Col. Raymundo Luevanos, 446th Mission Support Group commander, accepted the Seven Seals Award on behalf of the wing.

“We couldn’t perform our global mission without the support of our civilian patrons,” said Luevanos. “This award is a representation of the dedicated support of the members from our community and the hard work of our citizen airmen.”

ESGR, a Department of Defense office, is comprised of dedicated and trained volunteers and staff who help educate employers on laws protecting Reservists and Guardsmen.

“Looking out at all of the units represented here tonight shows the tremendous capabilities of our Guardsmen and Reservists in Washington State,” Luevanos said. “Our role is to be combat ready to deploy 100 percent of the time, and we do that with not only the support of our civilian employers, but also with the support from ESGR”.

ESGR informs and educates Service members and their civilian employers regarding their rights and responsibilities governed by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).