The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medal ...

of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the national security or defense of the United States. The medal was created on July 9, 1970, by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

in . President Nixon awarded the first medal, on the day the Executive Order was signed, to General

Earle Wheeler Earle Gilmore Wheeler (January 13, 1908 – December 18, 1975), nicknamed Bus, was a United States Army general who served as the chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1962 to 1964 and then as the sixth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of ...

, who was retiring from the US Army after serving as

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and ...

and then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is equivalent to the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...

Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal The Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the Department of Homeland Security, which is presented to United States Armed Forces servicemembers for exceptionally meritorious service. The current version of the me ...

Criteria

The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is the United States Department of Defense's highest non-combat related military award and it is the highest joint service decoration. The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is awarded only while assigned to a joint activity. Normally, such responsibilities deserving of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal are held by the most senior officers such as the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS) is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, - Vice Chairman ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman ...

, the chiefs and vice chiefs of the military services, and commanders and deputy commanders of the

Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, ...

s, the

Director of the Joint Staff The director of the Joint Staff (DJS) is a three-star officer who assists the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a cabinet of senior military officers within the United States Armed Forces who advise the secretary of defense and the president on military ...

, and others whose duties bring them frequently into direct contact with the Secretary of Defense, 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 sec ...

, and other senior government officials. In addition, the medal may also be awarded to other service members whose direct and individual contributions to national security or national defense are recognized as being so exceptional in scope and value as to be equivalent to contributions normally associated with positions encompassing broader responsibilities. This decoration takes precedence over the Distinguished Service Medals of the services and is not to be awarded to any individual for a period of service for which an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal The Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal (CGDSM) is a military decoration of the United States Coast Guard that was established 4 August 1949 and is presented to coast guardsmen for "Exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty ...

is awarded.

Appearance

DSM presented to Guy Phillipe, Haitian commander, 2004

The medal is gold in color and on the obverse it features a medium blue enameled pentagon (point up). Superimposed on this is an

American bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

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 13 five-pointed stars and in the lower half, a wreath of

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

on the left and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

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

Notable recipients

Jonathan Howe Jonathan Trumbull Howe (born August 24, 1935) is a retired four-star United States Navy admiral, and was the Special Representative for Somalia to United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali from March 9, 1993, succeeding Ismat Kittani ...

(six awards) *

Lloyd Austin Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...

(five awards) *

Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...

(five awards) *

Raymond T. Odierno Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odiern ...

(five awards) * Dennis C. Blair (four awards) * James B. Busey IV (four awards) *

George W. Casey Jr. George William Casey Jr. (born July 22, 1948) is a retired four-star general who served as the 36th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from April 10, 2007, to April 10, 2011. He served as Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq fr ...

(four awards) *

William J. Crowe William James Crowe Jr. (January 2, 1925 – October 18, 2007) was a United States Navy admiral and diplomat who served as the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and as the ambassad ...

(four awards) *

James L. Jones James Logan Jones Jr. (born December 19, 1943) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general and consultant who served as the 21st United States National Security Advisor from 2009 to 2010. During his military career, he served as th ...

(four awards) *

Timothy J. Keating Timothy John Keating (born November 16, 1948) is a retired United States Navy admiral. During his career, he served as commander of Carrier Group Five, the United States 5th Fleet, the United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace D ...

(four awards) *

Michael Mullen Michael Glenn Mullen (born October 4, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2011. Mullen previously served as the Navy's 28th chief of ...

(four awards) *

Richard Myers Richard Bowman Myers (born March 1, 1942) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United Stat ...

(four awards) *

Peter Pace Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman and the first Marine officer to be appointed ...

(four awards) *

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to ...

(four awards) * Colin Powell (four awards) * Victor E. Renuart Jr. (four awards) *

John Shalikashvili John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(four awards) *

Hugh Shelton Henry Hugh Shelton (born January 2, 1942) is a former United States Army officer who served as the 14th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001. Early life, family and education Shelton was born in Tarboro, North Carolina and g ...

(four awards) *

John Abizaid John Philip Abizaid (born April 1, 1951) is a retired United States Army general and former United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander who served as the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2019 to 2021. Abizaid retired after 34 ...

(three awards) * John R. Allen (three awards) *

Peter W. Chiarelli Peter William Chiarelli (born March 23, 1950) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the 32nd Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from August 4, 2008 to January 31, 2012. He also served as commande ...

(three awards) *

Vern Clark Vernon Eugene Clark (born September 7, 1944) is a retired admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of the United States Navy. He retired on July 22, 2005, making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behind Ar ...

(three awards) *

James T. Conway James Terry Conway (born December 26, 1947) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Among his previous postings were Director of Operations (J-3) on the Joint Chiefs of S ...

(three awards) * Martin Dempsey (three awards) * Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. (three awards) * Gregory G. Johnson (three awards) * George Joulwan (three awards) *

William H. McRaven William Harry McRaven (born November 6, 1955) is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014. From 2015 to 2018, ...

(three awards) *

David M. Rodriguez David Mitchell "Rod" Rodriguez (born May 23, 1954) is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as the Commander of the United States Africa Command from April 2013 to July 2016. Rodriguez previously served as the Commanding Gene ...

(three awards) *

Curtis Scaparrotti Curtis Michael "Mike" Scaparrotti (born March 5, 1956) is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the Commander of United States European Command. He concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Scaparr ...

(three awards) *

Peter Schoomaker Peter Jan Schoomaker (born February 12, 1946) is a retired four-star general of the United States Army who served as the 35th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from August 1, 2003 to April 10, 2007. Schoomaker's appointment as Chief of S ...

(three awards) * Kurt W. Tidd (three awards) * Thomas D. Waldhauser (three awards) *

William E. Ward William E. "Kip" Ward (born June 3, 1949) is a retired United States Army three-star general who served as the inaugural Commander of United States Africa Command from October 1, 2007 to March 8, 2011. During his long career in public service, he ...

(three awards) * James A. Winnefeld Jr. (three awards) *

Creighton Abrams Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. (September 15, 1914 – September 4, 1974) was a United States Army general who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972, which saw United States troop strength in South Vietnam reduced ...

(two awards) *

Jeremy M. Boorda Jeremy Michael Boorda (November 26, 1939 – May 16, 1996) was a United States Navy admiral who served as the 25th Chief of Naval Operations. Boorda is notable as the first person to have risen from the enlisted ranks to become Chief of Naval Ope ...

(two awards) * William A. Brown (two awards) * Bantz J. Craddock (two awards) *

Walter Doran Walter Francis Doran (born October 15, 1945) is a retired admiral in the United States Navy, who served as the Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) from May 2002 to July 2005. He lives with his wife, Ginny and has two sons ...

(two awards) * James O. Ellis (two awards) * William J. Fallon (two awards) *

Noel Gayler Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( ; December 25, 1913 – July 14, 2011) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served as the sixth Director of the National Security Agency from 1969 to 1972, and ninth Commander of Pacific Command from 1972 to ...

(two awards) *

Andrew Goodpaster Andrew Jackson Goodpaster (February 12, 1915 – May 16, 2005) was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), from July 1, 1969, and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command (CINC ...

(two awards) * William E. Gortney (two awards) *

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these c ...

(two awards) *

Harry B. Harris Jr. Harry Binkley Harris Jr. (born August 4, 1956) is a retired American diplomat and retired U.S. Navy officer. He was the first American of Japanese descent to lead US Pacific Command in the U.S. Navy and was the highest-ranking American of Japanes ...

(two awards) *

Thomas B. Hayward Admiral (United States), Admiral Thomas Bibb Hayward (May 3, 1924 – March 3, 2022) was Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy from July 1, 1978, until June 30, 1982, after which he retired from military service. Naval career Sho ...

(two awards) *

James L. Holloway III James Lemuel Holloway III (February 23, 1922 – November 26, 2019) was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator who was decorated for his actions during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. After the Vietnam War, he was poste ...

(two awards) *

Jay L. Johnson Jay Lynn Johnson (born June 5, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the 26th Chief of Naval Operations from 1996 to 2000. He was later president and chief executive officer of General Dynamics. Early life Johnson was born ...

(two awards) *

Frank B. Kelso II Frank Benton Kelso II (July 11, 1933 – June 23, 2013) was an admiral of the United States Navy, who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1990 to 1994. Early life Kelso was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, on July 11, 1933. He attended public ...

(two awards) * Joseph D. Kernan (two awards) * George E. R. Kinnear II (two awards) *

Samuel J. Locklear Samuel Jones "Sam" Locklear III (born October 28, 1954) is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as the commander of the United States Pacific Command from March 9, 2012, to May 27, 2015. Prior to that, he served as Commander, Unite ...

(two awards) *

Deborah Loewer Deborah A. Loewer was the first warfare qualified woman promoted to flag rank in the United States Navy. She was frocked to the rank of rear admiral (lower half) on October 1, 2003 and retired in 2007. Career Deborah Ann Loewer is from Spring ...

(two awards) *

Jim Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persia ...

(two awards) *

Stanley A. McChrystal Stanley Allen McChrystal (born August 14, 1954) is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 where his organization was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarq ...

(two awards) *

Mark Milley Mark Alexander Milley (born June 20, 1958) is a United States Army general who serves as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He previously served as the 39th chief of staff of the Army from August 14, 2015 to August 9, 2019, and hel ...

(two awards) *

Thomas Hinman Moorer Thomas Hinman Moorer (February 9, 1912 – February 5, 2004) was an admiral and naval aviator in the United States Navy who served as the chief of naval operations from 1967 to 1970, and as the seventh chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from ...

(two awards) * Donald L. Pilling (two awards) *

Joseph Ralston General Joseph Wood Ralston (born November 4, 1943) is currently the United States Special Envoy for countering the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and holds senior positions in various defense related corporations. He was previously a career offic ...

(two awards) * Bernard W. Rogers (two awards) *

Eric Shinseki Eric Ken Shinseki (; born November 28, 1942) is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2009–2014). His final United States Army post was as the 34th Chief of Staff of the Arm ...

(two awards) * James G. Stavridis (two awards) *

Patricia Ann Tracey Patricia Ann Tracey (born November 30, 1950) is a retired United States naval officer and the first woman to be promoted to the rank of vice admiral in the United States Navy. She held the positions of chief of naval education and training (CNET) ...

(two awards) * Carlisle A.H. Trost (two awards) *

James D. Watkins James David Watkins (March 7, 1927 – July 26, 2012) was a United States Navy Admiral (United States), admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations who served as the United States Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush administration, ...

(two awards) *

Maurice F. Weisner Maurice Franklin Weisner (November 20, 1917October 15, 2006) was a four-star admiral of the United States Navy who served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1972 to 1973; commander in chief, United States Pacific Fleet from 1973 to 1976; and ...

(two awards) *

Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States t ...

(two awards) * J. H. Binford Peay III *

Philip M. Breedlove Philip Mark Breedlove (born September 21, 1955) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the commander of U.S. European Command, as well as the 17th Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO Allied Comm ...

Frank Bowman Frank Lee Bowman (born 19 December 1944), a retired four-star Admiral, is the former Chief of Naval Personnel and former Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2009 for his leaders ...

Nancy Elizabeth Brown Vice Admiral Nancy E. Brown (born 1952) most recently served as the Director, Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems (C4 Systems), The Joint Staff. She is the principal advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on all C4 ...

* Ronald Burgess (two awards) * Wendi B. Carpenter * Bruce W. Clingan *

Robert H. Conn Robert Henry Conn (June 8, 1925 – August 4, 2020) was an American state official. He served as Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) from 1981 to 1984 and Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management ...

Michael P. DeLong Michael Phillip "Rifle" DeLong (March 15, 1945 – July 27, 2018) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who served as deputy commander, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. From 2000 until his retireme ...

* Leon A. Edney *

Craig S. Faller Craig Stephen Faller (born 1961) is a retired United States Navy admiral. A 1983 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a native of Fryburg, Pennsylvania, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering. He earned his master's in n ...

Mark E. Ferguson III Mark E. Ferguson III (born October 30, 1956) is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, United States Naval Forces Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples. Ferguson previously ser ...

James R. Fitzgerald James R. Fitzgerald (born June 24, 1953) is an American criminal profiler, forensic linguist, and author. He is a retired FBI agent and best known for his role in the UNABOM investigation, which resulted in the arrest and conviction of Ted Kaczyns ...

* Mark P. Fitzgerald *

William J. Flanagan Jr. Admiral William John Flanagan Jr. (born March 27, 1943) is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet from 1994 to 1996. Early life and education Flanagan was born in 1943 in Jes ...

* Michael Flynn *

Tommy Franks Tommy Ray Franks (born 17 June 1945) is a retired general in the United States Army. His last army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States military operations in a 25-country region, including the ...

Douglas M. Fraser Douglas Malcolm Fraser (born April 16, 1950), is a United States Air Force (USAF) general who served as the Commander, United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM). He was the first USAF officer to become USSOUTHCOM's combatant commander. He prev ...

* John Galvin * Harold W. Gehman Jr. * Jonathan W. Greenert * Cecil D. Haney *

Huntington Hardisty Huntington Hardisty (February 3, 1929 – October 1, 2003) was a United States Navy four star admiral who served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) from 1987 to 1988; and Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Command (USCINCPAC) from 1988 ...

* John C. Harvey Jr. *

Michelle Howard Michelle Janine Howard (born April 30, 1960) is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who last served as the commander of United States Naval Forces Europe while she concurrently was the commander of United States Naval Forces Africa ...

Grace Hopper Grace Brewster Hopper (; December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral. One of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, she was a pioneer of compu ...

Rick Husband Richard Douglas Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and fighter pilot. He traveled into space twice: as Pilot of STS-96 and Commander of STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when ''C ...

Daniel James Jr. Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. (February 11, 1920 – February 25, 1978) was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force who, in 1975, became the first African American to reach the rank of four-star general in the United States Armed Forces. Thre ...

* David E. Jeremiah * John F. Kelly *

Isaac C. Kidd Jr. Isaac Campbell Kidd Jr. (August 14, 1919 – June 27, 1999) was an American admiral in the United States Navy who served as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO's Atlantic Fleet, and also as commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet from 19 ...

Charles R. Larson Charles Robert Larson (November 20, 1936 – July 26, 2014) was an Admiral of the United States Navy. Military career A 1958 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Larson twice served as Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis ...

* Thomas J. Lopez * Richard C. Macke *

William C. McCool William Cameron "Willie" McCool (September 23, 1961 – February 1, 2003) ( Cmdr, USN) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who was the pilot of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' mission S ...

Wesley L. McDonald Wesley Lee McDonald (July 6, 1924February 8, 2009) was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator. He led the first air strike against North Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incident and was the commander in charge of Operation Urgent Fury, t ...

Richard W. Mies Richard Willard Mies (born May 30, 1944) is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the fourth Commander in Chief of United States Strategic Command from 1998 to 2001. Naval career Mies graduated first in his class from the United S ...

Michael H. Miller Michael Harold "Mike" Miller (born June 4, 1952) is a former vice admiral in the United States Navy, and was the first active-duty officer to direct the White House Military Office. He was the 61st Superintendent of the United States Naval Acad ...

Carl Epting Mundy Jr. Carl Epting Mundy Jr. (July 16, 1935 – April 2, 2014) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from July 1, 1991 until his retirement on ...

Eric T. Olson Eric Thor Olson (born January 24, 1952) is a retired United States Navy Admiral (United States), admiral who last served as the eighth Commander, United States Special Operations Command, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from July 2, 2 ...

* William A. Owens * Joseph Prueher *

Dennis Reimer Dennis Joe Reimer (born July 12, 1939) is a retired general of the United States Army, who served as the 33rd Chief of Staff of the Army from June 20, 1995 to June 21, 1999. He is also a graduate of Ranger and Airborne school. Early life and edu ...

Gary Roughead Gary Roughead ( "rough head"; born July 15, 1951) is a former United States Navy officer who served as the 29th Chief of Naval Operations from September 29, 2007 to September 22, 2011. He previously served as Commander, United States Fleet Forces ...

Ricardo Sanchez Ricardo Sanchez (born September 9, 1953) is a former lieutenant general in the United States Army. His career was most notable for his service as commander of Multi-National Force – Iraq and V Corps. Early life and education Sánchez was bor ...

Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. (; August 22, 1934 – December 27, 2012) was a United States Army general. While serving as the commander of United States Central Command, he led all coalition forces in the Gulf War. Born in Trenton, New ...

* Leighton W. Smith Jr. *

Vincent R. Stewart Vincent Raymond Stewart (born May 11, 1958) is a retired Jamaican American lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who most recently served as Deputy Commander at United States Cyber Command. He previously served as the 20th Director ...

Harry D. Train II Harry Depue Train II (born November 5, 1927) is a retired United States Navy Admiral (United States), admiral and a Fellow, Senior Fellow at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

Stephen J. Townsend Stephen J. Townsend (born 1959) is a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander, United States Africa Command from 26 July 2019 to 8 August 2022. He previously commanded the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from ...

Carlisle Trost Carlisle Albert Herman Trost (April 24, 1930 – September 29, 2020) was a United States Navy officer who served as the 23rd Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from July 1, 1986 to June 29, 1990. He oversaw ...

* Charles E. Wilhelm * Alexander F. Krichevsky *

Robert F. Willard Robert Frederick Willard is a retired Admiral (United States), United States Navy admiral who last served as the 22nd Commander, United States Pacific Command, U.S. Pacific Command from October 19, 2009 to March 9, 2012. He previously served as C ...

* Ronald J. Zlatoper *

Bradley A. Heithold Lieutenant General Bradley A. Heithold is a retired United States Air Force officer who served as Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command. He also was the Commander of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency ( ...

- John Zirkelbach (two awards)

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Awards and decorations of the United States Department of Defense An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

Awards established in 1970