Support Freedom Award Winner
The City of Cambridge Fire Department was selected as one of fifteen winners of 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. Over 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 was presented to Chief Gerald R. Reardon in Washington, D.C. during a formal ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Thursday September 17, 2009.
The Department was nominated for the award by Acting Captain Patrick Haggerty, who held the rank of Master Sergeant in the Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing based at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, MA. In recent years his deployments had included Saudi Arabia, Germany, England and Curacao. Several other members of the Cambridge Fire Department have served deployments in recent years in Military Reserve and National Guard units in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo as well as other locations.
To learn more about the award, and to read the wording of Cambridge Fire's award, you may visit their website at Freedom Award.
For further information or questions, please contact Assistant Chief Gerard Mahoney, 617-349-4970, email