The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves with outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States.

Introduced in 1969, the MSM was long awarded as a decoration for peacetime achievement. Since 2004, it has also been bestowed in lieu of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in a designated combat theater. 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.

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

Recipients

The Meritorious Service Medal is given to all ranks for meritorious service in the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Space Force. It may be awarded for meritorious performance while serving in a staff position as a field grade officer, senior chief warrant officer, or senior non-commissioned officer, or, in the case of field grade officers, for successful completion of a command tour at the battalion (Army) or squadron (Army, Air Force, or Space Force) level. It is rarely awarded to officers in pay grades O-1 through O-3 (second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain), junior warrant officers and 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.

thumb|left|225px|Lt. Gen. [[Jack L. Rives pins the Meritorious Service Medal on Colonel Lindsey Graham, April 2009]]

For enlisted ranks, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard typically limit the award of the MSM 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). Awarding 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, and 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 and/or upon retirement.

The medal was designed by Jay Morris of the Institute of Heraldry, and the design was approved on March 20, 1969, by the medal committee appointed by the defense secretary. The ribbon design 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.

Additional awards of the Meritorious Service Medal are denoted by bronze oak leaf clusters in the Army, Air Force, and Space Force, with one silver oak leaf cluster denoting five additional awards. (1 silver OLC plus the medal itself represents six) 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 five additional 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 about 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.

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 MSM in , dated January 16, 1969. The Executive Order was amended by President Ronald Reagan per , dated July 2, 1981, to authorize the award for members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations.

Until 2003, the MSM could only be awarded for peacetime service and could not be awarded in a combat zone; the MSM equivalent for those zones was the Bronze Star Medal (BSM). As in 1968 when the MSM was created, there were concerns that the prestige of the BSM was also slipping during combat operations in Southwest Asia that had essentially been continuous since 1990. In 2003, authority to award the MSM for combat zone service was authorized, retroactive to September 11, 2001.

See also

  • Coast and Geodetic Survey Meritorious Service Medal, an award of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
  • Merchant Marine Meritorious Service Medal, an award of the United States Merchant Marine
  • Meritorious Civilian Service Award – a comparable award given to civilian employees of the United States Departments of Defense and its agencies.

References

  • US Army Institute of Heraldry: Meritorious Service Medal (archived January 13, 2011)