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By Matt Coker in A Clockwork Orange, Main

Tue., Apr. 14 2009 @ 7:15AM

Parked on Civic Center?

If you're scooting past Santa Ana police headquarters Thursday afternoon and notice a large contingency of uniformed members of the Armed Services, worry not. That portion of Downtown Santa Ana has not been declared a war zone. Yet.

Nor is it a green zone signifying safety from threats real or imagined. Nope, it's just part of the Department of Defense's honoring of the City of Santa Ana and its police department Thursday for helping to make it easier to wage war or protect peace or however you choose to put it.

More specifically, officials from Defense's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) are swinging by the SAPD Community Room at 2 p.m. Thursday to recognize the city, the force, Police Chief Paul Walters and the Santa Ana Police Officers' Association for promoting "a culture in which employers support and value military service."

Five specific awards will be doled out. Uniformed representatives of the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and the Coast Guard Reserve are scheduled to participate.

According to ESGR, the city is also a finalist for the Freedom Award, the U.S. government's highest recognition given to employers of members of the reserve forces.