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Defense Distinguished Service Medal

 
Defense Distinguished Service Medal

 
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Defense Distinguished Service Medal
 
 
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The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award
Awards and decorations of the United States military

Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces....
 which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. The medal was created on July 9, 1970 by President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the only president to resign the office....
 in .

The decoration is awarded only at the highest levels of the military while assigned to a joint activity. The DDSM may also be awarded to other senior officers whose direct and individual contributions to national security
National security

The late political scientist Hans Morgenthau, author of Politics Among Nations, defines national security as the integrity of the national territory and its institutions....
 or defense are recognized as being so exceptional in scope and value as to be equivalent to contributions normally associated with positions encompassing broader responsibilities.

It is the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
's highest peacetime defense award.






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Encyclopedia


The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award
Awards and decorations of the United States military

Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces....
 which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. The medal was created on July 9, 1970 by President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the only president to resign the office....
 in .

The decoration is awarded only at the highest levels of the military while assigned to a joint activity. The DDSM may also be awarded to other senior officers whose direct and individual contributions to national security
National security

The late political scientist Hans Morgenthau, author of Politics Among Nations, defines national security as the integrity of the national territory and its institutions....
 or defense are recognized as being so exceptional in scope and value as to be equivalent to contributions normally associated with positions encompassing broader responsibilities.

It is the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
's highest peacetime defense award. Normally, such responsibilities deserving of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal are held by the most senior officers such as the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a group of military leaders in the United States armed forces who advise the civilian government of the United States....
, the Chiefs and Vice Chiefs of the Services, and Commander
Commander

Commander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement....
s and Deputy Commanders of the Unified Commands whose duties bring them into direct contact with the Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense

File:USSecDefflag.PNGThe United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense , concerned with the Military of the United States and Military of the United States....
 and other senior officials.

The medal is gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
 in color and on the obverse it features a medium blue enamel
Vitreous enamel

In a discussion of material science, enamel is the colorful result of fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius....
ed pentagon (point up). Superimposed on this is an American bald eagle
Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as the List of national birds and national symbol of the United States....
 with wings outspread facing left grasping three crossed arrows in its talons and on its breast is a shield of the United States. The pentagon and eagle are enclosed within a gold pieced circle consisting, in the upper half of thirteen five-pointed stars and in the lower half, a wreath of laurel
Bay Laurel

The Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10?18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region....
 on the left and olive
Olive

The Olive is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean region, from Lebanon, Syria and the maritime parts of Turkey and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea....
 on the right. At the top is a suspender of five graduated gold rays. The reverse of the medal has the inscription "For Distinguished Service" at the top in raised letters, and within the pentagon the inscription "From The Secretary of Defense To," all in raised letters. This decoration takes precedence over the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)

The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States of America military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United States armed forces or other Uni...
s of the separate services and is not to be awarded to any individual for a period of service for which an Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
, Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
, Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
 or Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the Military of the United States and one of seven Uniformed services of the United States. In addition to being a military branch at all times, it is unique among the armed forces in that it is also a Admiralty law agency and a Federal government of the United States regulatory agency....
 Distinguished Service Medal is awarded.

Additional awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters.

External links



ca:Medalla del Servei de Defensa Distingit hu:Defense Distinguished Service Medal