An Elkhart company is being honored by a division of the Department of Defense for their support to the National Guard and Reserve.

Tuesday afternoon, a representative from the Department of Defense's employer support division recognized leaders at Bull Moose Tube from Elkhart. The company received the Prestigious Defense Patriot Award.

It recognizes supervisors and bosses that have gone above and beyond to help a reservist take time off when duty calls.

In this case Master Chief Bruce Kitts nominated his company for their support.

“The next two months I'll be gone,” Kitts says. “They don't know yet, I'll be gone another four times,” he jokingly added. “They constantly have to scramble to fill my position and some people say they have to do it. Well they don't have to not complain about it.”

Kitts has been a reservist for 27 years and worked his way up through the ranks and often flies to DC. He works as a crane operator at Bull Moose Tube.