DCS Honored for Support of Guard and Reserve Employees

CLARKSVILLE – The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) organization has given the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) its Above and Beyond Award. Given in limited numbers by ESGR state committees, the Above and Beyond Award recognizes employers who, like DCS, go above and beyond the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act to provide extraordinary support and cooperation to Guard and Reserve employees.

Retired Col. Don Bradley, ESGR Middle Tennessee area chair, presented the award to DCS Commissioner Kathryn O’Day during a reception Monday at DCS’ Clarksville office. The department was nominated by Tech. Sgt. Theodore R. Forte, a DCS Child Protective Services case manager who recently returned from the Afghanistan Theater of Operations, where he served with the 777th Expeditionary Prime BEEF (base engineer emergency force) Squadron, Tennessee Air National Guard.

At a time when unemployment among Guard and Reserve members is higher than that of the civilian population they protect, Forte said DCS provided him with much needed predictability and stability by supporting him, holding his position and making service possible.

“I’m exceptionally proud of employees like Theo who have taken on not one, but two of our nation’s most sacred and difficult duties: protecting children from abuse and neglect and leaving the safety of home to answer the call to serve in war zones overseas,” O’Day said. “The department is honored to receive this award and will continue to do all it can to support its guardsmen and reservists.”

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is an agency within the Department of Defense that works to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve component members and their civilian employers. To learn more about supporting soldiers on active duty and their families, visit Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve at www.ESGR.mil.