- National Defense Service Medal
-
National Defense Service Medal 
National Defense Service MedalAwarded by United States Type Service medal Eligibility Member of the United States military during qualifying periods of national emergency Awarded for Military service during periods of national emergency Campaign 1) Korean War
2) Vietnam War
3) Gulf War
4) War on TerrorismStatus Active Description Obverse: Shows the American bald eagle, perched on a sword and palm. Above this, in a semicircle, is the inscription "National Defense".
Reverse: Shows a shield, as it appears in the Great Seal of the United States; it is half encircled below with an oak leaf to the right and a laurel spray to the left, knotted in the center.
Ribbon: The ribbon has a wide yellow stripe in the center, flanked by narrow stripes of red, white, blue, white and wide red stripes.
Clasps Service star for subsequent awards Statistics Established Executive Order 10448, April 22, 1953 (as amended by E.O. 11265, January 11, 1966; E.O. 12776, October 8, 1991; E.O. 13293, March 28, 2003. First awarded June 27, 1950 - July 27, 1954 (Korean War) Last awarded September 11, 2001 - present (War on Terrorism) Precedence Next (higher) Navy: Navy Occupation Service Medal
Marine Corps: Navy Occupation Service Medal
Army: Army of Occupation Medal
Air Force: Army of Occupation Medal
Coast Guard: Navy Occupation Service MedalNext (lower) Korean Service Medal Related Global War on Terrorism Service Medal 
Ribbon & Streamer for the National Defense Service MedalThe National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Created in 1953, the National Defense Service Medal was intended to be a "blanket campaign medal" awarded to any member of the United States military who served honorably during a designated time period of which a "national emergency" had been declared.
As of 2010, with an issuance span of sixty years, the National Defense Service Medal is the oldest service medal still in circulation by the United States armed forces, followed second by the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal which has been active since 1961. Combat and meritorious decorations (such as the Medal of Honor, Achievement Medals, and Commendation Medals) are older still but are classified under separate award criteria from service medals.
Contents
Eligible periods
In the years since the creation of the National Defense Service Medal, it is authorized only for the following time periods:[1]
- June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1954 for service during the Korean War
- January 1, 1961 to August 14, 1974 for service during the Vietnam War
- August 2, 1990 to November 30, 1995 for service during the Gulf War
- September 11, 2001 to a date to be announced for service during the War on Terrorism
Award criteria
The National Defense Service Medal is awarded to anyone who serves on active duty in the United States military during the above time periods.[2] For service in the Gulf War and War on Terrorism, members of the military reserve (in good standing) or National Guard are awarded the NDSM when called to active duty service. Inactive Ready Reserve and Retired Reserve are not eligible to be awarded the NDSM unless called to active duty. The National Defense Service Medal is authorized to students at the service academies after they are sworn into service, but is not granted to discharged or retired veterans who did not serve in one of the above time periods; nor is it authorized for Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Cadets who enlisted in the reserve during qualifying periods.
The National Defense Service Medal ranks eleventh out of twenty-nine in the order of precedence of service medals. There is no time limit imposed for the medal's issuance, meaning that someone who joins the military for simply a few days, and then receives an entry level discharge, would technically be entitled to the NDSM; in practice, however, military clerks will not add the NDSM on a DD Form 214 if the service member performed duty for less than 90 days from the completion of their initial entry training. This accounts for the medal's omission from a large number of "uncharacterized" and "entry level" separation documents.[3] Veterans who have this medal so omitted may apply to the military service departments to have the NDSM added to records via a DD Form 215.[4]
Multiple awards
Multiple awards of the National Defense Service Medal are authorized for members of the military who served in more than one of the eligible time periods; such additional awards are denoted by service stars. A second award of the medal is not granted for reenlisting during the same time period or transferring between branches of service.[5]
Source
- National Personnel Records Center (Training package for awards & decorations)
References
- ^ Air Force Personnel Center National Defense Service Medal
- ^ Institute of Heraldry National Defense Service Medal
- ^ National Personnel Records Center, "Case Reference Guide for military service record requests", military awards and decorations section
- ^ SECNAVINST 1650.1H 2006 4-16 page 128
- ^ 578.23 National Defense Service Medal
Inter-service awards and decorations of the United States militaryFederal military decorations DoD decorations Federal service medals 
National Defense Service Medal · 
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal · 
Humanitarian Service Medal · 
Outstanding Volunteer Service · 
Armed Forces Service Medal · 
Armed Forces Reserve · 
POW · 
Antarctica Service · 
Korean Service · 
Korea Defense Service · 
Vietnam Service · 
Southwest Asia Service · 
Kosovo Campaign · 
Afghanistan Campaign Medal · 
Iraq Campaign Medal · 
GWOT Expeditionary Medal · 
GWOT Service MedalCategories:- United States campaign medals
- Awards established in 1953
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
