Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service

Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
Obverse and reverse of the medal
TypeCivilian public service award
Awarded forExceptionally distinguished service of significance to a DoD Component or function, or Department of Defense as a whole.
Country United States
Presented byU.S. Secretary of Defense
EligibilityNon-career federal employees, private citizens, and foreign nationals.
Established1947
Ribbon bar of the medal
Precedence
Next (lower)Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service

The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the United States Secretary of Defense to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exceptionally distinguished service of significance to the Department of Defense as a whole, or a DoD Component or function, where recognition at the component level would not be sufficient for the service rendered.[1]

  1. ^ "Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service" (PDF). Office of the Secretary of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-07-13.