Defense Superior Service Medal

Defense Superior Service Medal
TypeSuperior service medal
Awarded forSuperior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility
Presented byUnited States Department of Defense[1]
EligibilityUnited States Armed Forces service members
StatusCurrently awarded
Established6 February 1976


Precedence
Next (higher)Silver Star Medal[2]
Next (lower)Legion of Merit[2]

The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility.

It is most often presented to general and flag officers, followed by a lesser number of Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force colonels and Navy and Coast Guard captains. Presented in the name of the United States Secretary of Defense, it was established by President Gerald R. Ford on February 6, 1976 in Executive Order 11904. It is analogous and senior to the Legion of Merit, albeit awarded for service in a joint duty capacity.

  1. ^ "Issuances" (PDF). www.esd.whs.mil. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 1348.33,v1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).