The Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service is the United States

Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out au ...

’s (OSD) highest level career medaled award. Career civilian employees of the OSD, the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

, and the Federal government are eligible.

Approval

Approval must be granted from the Head of an OSD Component (e.g., the

Secretary of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

and the

Deputy Secretary of Defense The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the s ...

; the Under Secretaries of Defense; or one of the Assistant Secretaries of Defense who report directly to the Secretary of Defense, etc.) This award was established to recognize civilian employees who have distinguished themselves by exceptional service to the Secretary of Defense or a Component within the

. This award consists of a medal, lapel pin, and citation signed by the Secretary or Head of an OSD Component. Subsequent awards consist of the foregoing recognition devices and a bronze, silver, or gold palm, as appropriate. Nominees shall have served a minimum of three (3) years in an organization receiving operational support from the

Washington Headquarters Services Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) Field Activity, created in 1977, to provide administrative and management support to multiple DoD components and military departments in the National Capital ...

' Directorate for Personnel and Security Customer Support Operating Office or in the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

, or a combination of the two.

For non DOD employees

In lieu of this award,

Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished 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 f ...

is presented to those 'non-career civilian employees, private citizens, and foreign nationals', for their contributions, assistance, or support who do not derive his or her principal livelihood from

U.S. Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

employment. It is OSD's highest level non-career medaled award.

Award Criteria

Performance is characterized by exceptional civilian service to OSD as a whole or the specific OSD Component.

References

ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTION NO. 29. DODI, 1999 SUBJECT: Incentive and Honorary Awards Programs References: (a) Administrative Instruction No. 29, "Incentive Awards," January 8, 1990 (hereby canceled) (b) Title 5,

United States Code The United States Code (formally The Code of Laws of the United States of America) is the official Codification (law), codification of the general and permanent Law of the United States#Federal law, federal statutes of the United States. It ...

, "Government Organization and Employees" (c) Title 5,

Code of Federal Regulations In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulatory law, regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the ...

, "Administrative Personnel" (d) DoD 1400.25-M, "Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Manual," December 1996, authorized by DoD Directive 1400.25, November 25, 1996 Awards and decorations of the United States Department of Defense {{odm-stub

Approval

For non DOD employees

Award Criteria

See also

References