Photo By Christopher Hanson | Four supervisors from the 88th Readiness Division, were honored by the Employers Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) with Patriot Awards on May 20, 2026. Kelly McNeese, Rochelle Vanier, Kevin Zavala and Shalanda Harlan (not pictured), were honored in recognition of their extraordinary support of their employee, Sgt. Jennifer Coley serving in the U.S. Army Reserve. see less
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Four supervisors from the 88th Readiness Division, were honored by the Employers Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) with Patriot Awards on May 20, 2026. Kelly McNeese, Rochelle Vanier, Kevin Zavala and Shalanda Harlan, were honored in recognition of their extraordinary support of their employee, Sgt. Jennifer Coley serving in the U.S. Army Reserve.
The awards were presented by Mr. John Gessner, ESGR Chairman Area 4, at the 88th Readiness Division Town Hall meeting hosted by MG Joseph Ricciardi. The Patriot Award is granted by the Department of Defense's ESGR, given to individual civilian supervisors who are nominated by their National Guard or Reserve employees (or military spouses) for providing outstanding, flexible support during deployments and military leaves.
The 88th Readiness Division serves primarily as a military unit staffed with soldiers and civilian staff. Some of these civilian staff also serve as drilling reservists, known as “twice the citizen.” Each time one of these soldiers is deployed it creates a vacancy in civilian positions in which duties must be covered during that period. In this role, they serve as an employer.
The nominator, Sgt. Coley, serves in the 467th Combat and Operational Stress Control (COSC) unit based in Madison, Wis. Specialized units such as these, assist soldiers by preventing, identifying, and managing the effects of combat and operational stress reactions in order to minimize adverse effects of combat stress on service members.
Sgt. Coley nominated her supervisors, “to show my appreciation for all the support the 88th has given me throughout the years of my career, my professional life as a soldier, and personal life as a military spouse. They have mentored me in many ways in keeping me motivated and contributing their expertise and wisdom to my professional and personal growth. For this, I am forever grateful.”
One of the awardees, Rochelle Vanier said of Jennifer, “she performs a critical service to the 88th Division soldiers by providing expertise as an incapacitation pay specialist. Her work ensures that claims of soldiers who are injured while on military duty status and unable to work are processed expeditiously. Her dedication and attention to detail have resulted in a higher accuracy of claims and a reduced processing time.”
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