The National Security Medal is a decoration of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

officially established by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

in Executive Order 10431 of January 19, 1953. The medal was originally awarded to any person, without regard to nationality, for distinguished achievement or outstanding contribution on or after July 26, 1947, in the field of intelligence relating to the national security of the United States. On October 2, 2015, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

amended Executive Order 10431 to award the medal to any person for distinguished achievement or outstanding contribution made in the field of national security through either exceptionally meritorious service performed in a position of high responsibility or through an act of heroism requiring personal courage of a high degree. Two additional sections were added to the original order. Any individual may recommend a potential recipient as a candidate for the award to the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council. If the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council determines that the medal is warranted and following approval by the President, the Executive Secretary shall notify the

Office of the Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Comm ...

who will then process the award recommendation, prepare the medal and deliver it to the National Security Council for presentation to the recipient. The National Security Medal is authorized to both civilians and personnel of the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

and is an authorized decoration for display on active duty uniforms of the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

. In such cases, the National Security Medal is worn after all U.S. military personal decorations and unit awards and before any military campaign/service awards and foreign decorations. Additional decorations of the National Security Medal are denoted by a bronze

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

Notable recipients

* Avi Berkowitz *

William Joseph Donovan William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the B ...

* Allen Dulles * David M. Friedman *

William F. Friedman William Frederick Friedman (September 24, 1891 – November 12, 1969) was a US Army cryptographer who ran the research division of the Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) in the 1930s, and parts of its follow-on services into the 1950s. ...

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...

Richard Grenell Richard Allen Grenell (born September 18, 1966) is an American political operative, diplomat, TV personality, and public relations consultant who served as Acting Director of National Intelligence in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet in 2020. ...

* Michael Hayden *

Richard Helms Richard McGarrah Helms (March 30, 1913 – October 23, 2002) was an American government official and diplomat who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973. Helms began intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Ser ...

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

* Clarence Leonard Johnson *

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...

Edward Lansdale Edward Geary Lansdale (February 6, 1908 – February 23, 1987) was a United States Air Force officer until retiring in 1963 as a major general before continuing his work with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Lansdale was a pioneer in cl ...

John McCone John Alexander McCone (January 4, 1902 – February 14, 1991) was an American businessman and politician who served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1961 to 1965, during the height of the Cold War. Background John A. McCone was born in ...

* Steven Mnuchin * Robert O'Brien *

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

John Rakolta John Rakolta Jr ( ro, Racolța; born June 15, 1947 in Oakland County, Michigan) is an American businessman and a former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2019 to 2021. He is the former CEO of Wa ...

* John Scott Redd * Kermit Roosevelt Jr. *

Frank Rowlett Frank Byron Rowlett (May 2, 1908 – June 29, 1998) was an American cryptologist. Life and career Rowlett was born in Rose Hill, Lee County, Virginia and attended Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia. In 1929 he received a bachelor's d ...

Wendy Sherman Wendy Ruth Sherman (born June 7, 1949) is an American diplomat who is serving as the United States Deputy Secretary of State since April 2021. She was a professor of the practice of public leadership and director of the Center for Public Leaders ...

Walter Bedell Smith General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith (5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961) was a senior officer of the United States Army who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) during the Tunisia Campai ...

William O. Studeman William Oliver Studeman (born January 16, 1940) is a retired admiral of the United States Navy and former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, with two extended periods as acting Director of Central Intelligence. As deputy director ...

Former DDCI Admiral Studeman Feted at Retirement Ceremony — Central Intelligence Agency
Cia.gov. Retrieved on 2010-12-30. *

William H. Webster William Hedgcock Webster (born March 6, 1924) is an American attorney and jurist who most recently served as chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2005 until 2020. He was a United States district judge of the United States Distr ...

References

{{reflist Civil awards and decorations of the United States Military awards and decorations of the United States Awards established in 1953

Notable recipients

See also

References