The
National Defense Service Medal is a
military service medalAwards 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...
of the United States military originally commissioned by President
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. 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 MedalThe Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States military, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy...
which has been active since 1961. Combat and meritorious decorations (such as the
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
,
Achievement MedalThe Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States military. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize the contributions of junior officers and enlisted personnel who were not eligible to receive the higher Commendation Medal or the Meritorious Service...
s, and
Commendation MedalThe Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. For valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy force, but of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Bronze Star, the Valor device may...
s) are older still but are classified under separate award criteria from
service medalA service medal is a military award generally of the lowest degree. A service medal is awarded to a member of the military who joins the military, or is already serving, during a designated time period...
s.
Eligible periods
In the years since the creation of the National Defense Service Medal, it is authorized only for the following time periods:
- June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1954 for service during the Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
- January 1, 1961 to August 14, 1974 for service during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
- August 2, 1990 to November 30, 1995 for service during the Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
- September 11, 2001 to a date to be announced for service during the War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
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. 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 precedenceAn order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...
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 214The DD Form 214, officially DD Form 214 "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty", but generally referred to as a "DD 214", is a document of the United States Department of Defense, issued upon a military service member's retirement, separation or discharge from active-duty...
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. 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.
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.