Verizon Wireless has been named as one of 15 recipients of the 2012 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The Freedom Award is the U.S. Department of Defense’s highest recognition given to employers for exceptional support of National Guard and Reserve employees.

The award is the latest in a string of accolades for Verizon's military recruiting and hiring practices. Verizon was ranked among the top 10 in the Military Times EDGE "Best for Vets 2012: Employers" list, G.I. Jobs' Top 100 Military-Friendly Employers list, Military Spouse's America's Military Spouse-Friendly Employers list, and CivilianJobs.com named Verizon to the organization's Most Valuable Employers for the Military list.

Verizon's military-friendly policies include the following:

• Our Emergency Military Leave policy: For employees assigned to active military duty, Verizon pays, for up to 36 months, the difference in the employee's Verizon base pay and military base pay, and continues health care and other benefits for the same period. Over the past decade, nearly 1,650 employees have been covered by this policy.
   
• Verizon helps employees who are married to active duty members find jobs within the company near where their spouses are assigned.
   
• The Veterans Advisory Board, an employee resource group, provides recognition, mentoring and other support for employees who are veterans.
   
• An upcoming Leadership Development Program for interns who are veterans.
   
• A U.S. Military Skill matcher on our military career website lets job-seeking veterans enter their branch of service and specialty code to find openings that match their unique background, education and experience: Verizon hired approximately 550 veterans last year.