The Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service is the

Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out aut ...

’s (OSD) highest level career medaled award. Career civilian employees of the OSD, the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

, and the Federal government are eligible.

Approval

Approval must be granted from the Head of an OSD Component (e.g., the

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and 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 se ...

; the Under Secretaries of Defense; or one of the Assistant Secretaries of Defense who report directly to the Secretary of Defense, etc.) This award was established to recognize civilian employees who have distinguished themselves by exceptional service to the Secretary of Defense or a Component within the

. This award consists of a medal, lapel pin, and citation signed by the Secretary or Head of an OSD Component. Subsequent awards consist of the foregoing recognition devices and a bronze, silver, or gold palm, as appropriate. Nominees shall have served a minimum of three (3) years in an organization receiving operational support from the

Washington Headquarters Services Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) is a Department of Defense (DoD) Field Activity, created on October 1, 1977, to provide administrative and management support to multiple DoD components and military departments in the National Capital Region ...

' Directorate for Personnel and Security Customer Support Operating Office or in the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, or a combination of the two.

For non DOD employees

In lieu of this award, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional ''Public'' Service Award is presented to those 'non-career civilian employees, private citizens, and foreign nationals', for their contributions, assistance, or support who do not derive his or her principal livelihood from

U.S. Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

employment. It is OSD's highest level non-career medaled award.

Award Criteria

Performance is characterized by exceptional civilian service to OSD as a whole or the specific OSD Component.

References

ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTION NO. 29. DODI, 1999 SUBJECT: Incentive and Honorary Awards Programs References: (a) Administrative Instruction No. 29, "Incentive Awards," January 8, 1990 (hereby canceled) (b) Title 5,

United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...

, "Government Organization and Employees" (c) Title 5,

Code of Federal Regulations In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States. ...

, "Administrative Personnel" (d) DoD 1400.25-M, "Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Manual," December 1996, authorized by DoD Directive 1400.25, November 25, 1996 Awards and decorations of the United States Department of Defense {{odm-stub