On July 4, 2008, ABC’s Good Morning America featured a story on a First Command sponsored charity the Package Brigade that sends care packages to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. That same summer, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve honored First Command with the Patriotic Employer Award, which is presented to companies and individuals for contributing to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in America’s National Guard and Reserve force.