Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

This article is about the medal awarded in the United States. For similarly named decorations, see Meritorious Service Medal.

Meritorious Service Medal

Awarded by United States Armed Forces
Type	Military medal (Decoration)
Eligibility	Military Personnel Only
Awarded for	Outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States
Status	Currently Awarded
Statistics
Established	1969
Precedence
Next (higher)	Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Next (lower)	Air Medal
Meritorious Service Medal ribbon

The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969. The MSM was previously awarded as a decoration for achievement during peacetime; effective 11 September 2001, this decoration may also be bestowed in lieu of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in a designated combat theater.^[1] Normally, the acts or services rendered must be comparable to that required for the Legion of Merit but in a duty of lesser, though considerable, responsibility. According to AR 600-8-22, Paragraph 3-16, the MSM may not be upgraded to or downgraded from a recommended Bronze Star Medal. An MSM recommendation that is downgraded will be approved as an ARCOM.

A higher award and decoration known as the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is intended for similar services performed under joint duty within the United States Department of Defense, to include the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, and joint task forces under their cognizance.

In the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) are typically field grade officers in pay grades O-4 through O-6 (major, lieutenant colonel, colonel), senior chief warrant officers in pay grades W-3 through W-5 (CW3 to CW5, Army only), and senior non-commissioned officers (E-7 to E-9) in both the Army and the Air Force. Award of the MSM may be for meritorious performance while serving in a staff position as a field grade officer, senior chief warrant officer, or senior non-commissioned office, or, in the case of field grade officers, for successful completion of a command tour at the battalion (Army) or squadron (Army or Air Force) level. Award of the MSM to company grade officers in pay grades O-1 through O-3 (2d lieutenant, 1st lieutenant, captain), junior warrant officers/chief warrant officers in pay grades W-1 and W-2 (WO1 and CW2, Army only), and junior NCOs in pay grades E-6 and below is rare and typically by exception.

The U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard ascribe to a slightly different philosophy than the Army and the Air Force in awarding the MSM, typically reserving it for senior Naval and Coast Guard officers in pay grades O-5 and O-6 (commander and captain) and Marine Corps field grade officers in pay grades O-5 and O-6 (lieutenant colonel and colonel), with the first award of the MSM typically occurring after completion of a successful commanding officer assignment at the O-5 level. Award of the MSM to USN, USMC and USCG officers in pay grade O-4 (USN & USCG lieutenant commander / USMC major) and below, to include chief warrant officers and below (other than as an award at retirement to CWO5 and CWO4) is typically by exception and normally limited to those serving on a USN/USCG flag officer or USMC general officer staff.^[2]^[3]

Enlisted award of the MSM in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard is likewise typically limited to pay grades E-8 (e.g., USN/USCG senior chief petty officer and USMC master sergeant or first sergeant) and E-9 (e.g., USN/USCG master chief petty officer and USMC sergeant major or master gunnery sergeant), while award of the MSM to pay grade E-7 (e.g., USN/USCG chief petty officer and USMC gunnery sergeant) and below is very rare and by exception. In the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, the awarding authority for the MSM must be either a Flag Officer or General Officer holding the pay grade of O-7 or above. It is most common for Navy and Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officers (typically Command Master Chief Petty Officers) and Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeants and Sergeants Major to receive the MSM as an end of tour award upon retirement.^[2]

Foreign military personnel in the ranks of NATO OF-5 (US O-6 equivalent) and below and individuals who have displayed a level of service that warrants an award of such magnitude may also be eligible to be awarded the MSM subject to approval by a U.S. flag officer or general officer. To receive this medal the individual must exhibit exceptionally meritorious service at that level of responsibility.^[1]

Design and devices

The Meritorious Service Medal is a bronze medal, 1.5 inches in diameter overall, consisting of six rays issuant from the upper three points of a five-pointed star with beveled edges and containing two smaller stars defined by incised outlines; in front of the lower part of the star an eagle with wings upraised standing upon two upward curving branches of laurel tied with a ribbon between the feet of the eagle. The reverse has the encircled inscriptions "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "MERITORIOUS SERVICE". The suspension ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes: 1/8 inch Crimson 67112; 1/4 inch White 67101; center 5/8 inch Crimson; 1/4 inch White; and 1/8 inch Crimson.^[4]

Additional awards of the Meritorious Service Medal are denoted by bronze oak leaf clusters in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force (with a silver oak leaf cluster denoting six awards) and gold 5/16 inch stars in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard (with a 5/16 inch silver star denoting six awards). These devices are also authorized for wear on the suspension and service ribbon of the medal. In certain instances, the U.S. Coast Guard also authorizes an Operational Distinguishing Device for the medal.

History

At the Tri-Department Awards Conference (February 5, 1968), there was a discussion on the need for a third meritorious award to provide appropriate recognition for non-combat achievement or service comparable to that of the Bronze Star Medal for combat achievement or service. It was felt that the Legion of Merit's prestige was slipping because it was being used with increasing frequency to reward service below the Legion of Merit's intended standard, but higher than that required for the Commendation Medals of the various military services.^[5]

An ad hoc committee was formed by the Secretary of Defense (M&RA) to select a name. On November 8, 1968, the committee unanimously approved the name "Meritorious Service Medal". President Lyndon B. Johnson established the Meritorious Service Medal per Executive Order 11448, dated January 16, 1969. The Executive Order was amended by President Ronald Reagan per Executive Order 12312, dated July 2, 1981, to authorize award to members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations.

The medal was designed by Mr. Jay Morris of the Institute of Heraldry, and the design was approved by the committee on March 20, 1969. The ribbon design purposely follows the colors used for the Legion of Merit to reflect the parallel between the two medals. The eagle, symbol of the United States, stands on laurel branches denoting achievement. The star is used to represent the military service and the rays emanating therefrom denote the constant efforts of individuals to achieve through excellent and meritorious service.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meritorious Service Medal (United States).

US Army Institute of Heraldry: Meritorious Service Medal

Inter-service awards and decorations of the United States military

Federal military decorations	Medal of Honor Silver Star Medal Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star Medal Purple Heart Meritorious Service Medal Air Medal

Department level military decorations	Defense Distinguished Service Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Defense Meritorious Service Joint Service Commendation Joint Service Achievement Joint Meritorious Unit

Federal service medals	Prisoner of War National Defense Service Medal Antarctica Service Korean Service Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Southwest Asia Service Kosovo Campaign Afghanistan Campaign Medal Iraq Campaign Medal Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Korea Defense Service Armed Forces Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Outstanding Volunteer Service Armed Forces Reserve

Lyndon B. Johnson

36th President of the United States (1963-1969) 37th Vice President of the United States (1961-1963) U.S. Senator from Texas (1949-1961) U.S. Representative for TX-10 (1937-1949)

Presidency	1963 inauguration 1965 inauguration Great Society Architectural Barriers Act Child Nutrition Act Civil Rights Act of 1964 Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Transportation Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 Head Start Program Job Corps Elementary and Secondary Education Act Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Fair Housing Act of 1968 Food Stamp Act of 1964 Glassboro Summit Gun Control Act of 1968 Higher Education Act of 1965 Upward Bound TRIO Teacher Corps Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 Johnson Doctrine Dominican Republic occupation Medicare Medicaid Meritorious Service Medal National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities Non-Discrimination in Federal contracts Executive Order 11375 Older Americans Act Operation CHAOS Outer Space Treaty Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 Vietnam War Gulf of Tonkin Resolution "Credibility gap" VISTA Voting Rights Act of 1965 War on Poverty White House Conference on Civil Rights White House preservation State of the Union Address, 1966 1968 Cabinet Judicial appointments Supreme Court controversies

Life	Early years and career Operation Texas Texas Broadcasting Company Bashir Ahmad

Legacy	Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Lyndon Baines Johnson Day Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs Memorial Grove on the Potomac Postage stamp

Books	The Vantage Point: Perspectives on the Presidency Bibliography

Elections	United States House of Representatives special elections, 1937 United States House of Representatives elections, 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 United States Senate special elections, 1941 United States Senate elections, 1948 1954 1960 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1960 1964 1968 Democratic National Convention 1956 1960 1964 United States presidential election, 1960 1964

Popular culture	Lyndon B. Johnson in popular culture Daisy advertisement Johnson cult The Years of Lyndon Johnson All the Way (film) LBJ

Family	Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (wife) Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (daughter) Luci Baines Johnson (daughter) Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr. (father) Rebekah Baines Johnson (mother) Sam Houston Johnson (brother) Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr. (paternal grandfather) Joseph Wilson Baines (maternal grandfather) Chuck Robb (son-in-law)

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Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

Design and devices

History

See also

References

External links