SABATTUS – Over the past year, when Officer Matthew Prince has left for Virginia for two weeks every month to serve in the Air National Guard, police Chief Thomas Fales hasn’t asked many questions, he said.

He has told Prince that if he needed anything, he could count on Fales and the other officers.

Nominated by Prince, Fales will receive a Patriotic Employer Award on Thursday in a short ceremony at 9 a.m. at the Town Office. Fales will also sign a statement of support for the troops that will hang on the wall.

Prince is a tech sergeant in the Guard. His letter about Fales wasn’t very long, but that’s OK, said Paul Luce, manager of the veterans program for the Maine Department of Labor.

“Any time an employee nominates their boss, there’s a good reason,” Luce said.

Often, employers have kept in touch with solders via e-mail, sent care packages or checked on their spouses and children.

“I know how important it is not to worry about your job when you’re gone,” said Luce, who served in Afghanistan. “You should only have to worry about the orders on the battlefield.”

From October 2007 to September 2008, 32 Patriotic Employer Awards were given out and roughly 270 statements of support were signed in Maine.

Fales called Prince, a former Auburn police officer, a great employee. He’s been on the Sabattus force for two years. Other officers in the seven-member department have worked to fill in those hours when he’s away.

“We’re trying to be loyal to our troops. If they work for us, all the more,” Fales said. “I’m kind of overwhelmed by the thought (of being nominated).”