Former Alabama Army Guard General Honored for Continued Service

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Retired Brig. Gen. Russellville Summerlin (left) of Delta stands with his successor as chair of the Alabama ESGR Committee, retired Col. Bill Kringel of Theodore.

MONTGOMERY, AL (03/28/2011)(readMedia)-- Russell E. Summerlin, of Delta, has been honored for his five years of service as State Chair of the Alabama Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. His wife, Lesa, was present for the ceremony.

Ronald G. Young, Executive Director of the national ESGR committee, presented Summerlin the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service at a banquet held during the Alabama committee's recent annual conference in Mobile.

"I know when I visit Alabama, I will find the State Committee hard at work. You have been a driving force to make this happen with the Alabama Committee," Young told Summerlin.

The National ESGR Committee was established in 1972 by the Department of Defense. State committees were authorized and organized in ensuing years. The ESGR mission is to recognize outstanding employer support, increase awareness of applicable laws and resolve conflicts between employers and Guard or Reserve members through mediation.

The work of ESGR committees is critical to our nation's defense program because almost half of the current U.S. military strength is in Guard and Reserve units. A major thrust of the committee is performed by a group of trained ombudsmen who serve as neutral mediators in employer/employee job conflicts.

All ESGR committee members serve as volunteers. Most served in the military and many members are retired from some branch of U.S. military service.

A retired brigadier general from the Alabama Army National Guard, Summerlin also retired from his civilian job as an Alabama State Trooper. He has been a member of the State Committee for more than 25 years and plans to remain active with the State ESGR Committee.