Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

This article is about the military medal awarded in the United States. For the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey medal, see Coast and Geodetic Survey Meritorious Service Medal. For other similarly named decorations, see Meritorious Service Medal.
Meritorious Service Medal
TypeMilitary medal (Decoration)
Awarded forOutstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States
Presented byUnited States Department of the Army[1]
United States Department of the Navy[2]
United States Department of the Air Force[3]
United States Department of Homeland Security[4]
EligibilityMilitary Personnel Only
StatusCurrently Awarded
Established1969; 55 years ago (1969)
Meritorious Service ribbon
Precedence
Next (higher)Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Next (lower)Air Medal

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.[5] 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.

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2018-01-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2018-01-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Production publication" (PDF). static.e-publishing.af.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  4. ^ "Data" (PDF). media.defense.gov. 2017.
  5. ^ "Meritorious Service Medal". edocket.access.gpo.gov.