The Superior Cadet Decoration Award is the second highest

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. The DA is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is organized. It is led ...

medal awarded exclusively to

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

cadets. This award is presented annually to the most outstanding cadet within their respective ROTC program. As with other Department of the Army decorations, the award consists of a medal, ribbon, and lapel button with case, accompanied by DA Form 1773 ("Citation for the Superior Cadet Decoration Award") signed by the regimental commander on behalf of the

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

. In the Army, this award is also known as the Superior Cadet Decoration and the Superior Cadet Medal.

Criteria for award

To be awarded this decoration, a cadet must: *Demonstrate the highest level of military leadership and

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

potential within their respective program. *Be a regularly enrolled ROTC cadet (MS IV cadets scheduled for midyear graduation are eligible for consideration). *Rank in the upper 25% of both their academic class and ROTC program. *Attain a score of 90% or higher on the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT).

Design

The medal consists of a lamp, a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

, and a

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

. The lamp denotes the pursuit of knowledge, higher learning, and partnership of Army ROTC with American colleges and universities. The sword signifies the courage, gallantry, and self-sacrifice intrinsic to the profession of arms. On the reverse is inscribed: "Superior Cadet."

Superior Junior Cadet Decoration Award

There is also a Superior Junior Cadet Decoration Award with similar requirements issued to cadets in the

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military bases across the world. The progr ...

and National Defense Cadet Corps. For the JROTC version, the only difference in appearance of the two awards is an inverse of the red and blue colors on the ribbon portion of the medal. Again for the NDCC version, the only design difference is the ribbon portion of the medal. Overlaying a gray background, there is a total of ten vertical red stripes, with five stripes on the left side and five stripes on the right side. To be considered eligible for this award, an individual must be: *A Junior ROTC or NDCC cadet *In the top 10 percent of his or her class in Junior ROTC or NDCC academically and in the top 50 percent of his or her class in overall academic standing *Recommended by the Senior Army Instructor and principal or head of the appropriate institution

References

{{United States Army ROTC Awards and decorations of the United States Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps

Criteria for award

Design

Superior Junior Cadet Decoration Award

See also

References