Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service ( tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Üstün Hizmet Madalyası) was first created on July 27, 1967 and took its current form on July 29, 1983.

Technical specifications

General

Five large and five small stars on dark blue background circling an insignia of a crescent moon and a star on red background, the symbol of the

Turkish flag The national flag of Turkey, officially the Turkish flag ( tr, Türk bayrağı), is a red flag featuring a white star and crescent. The flag is often called "the red flag" (), and is referred to as "the red banner" () in the Turkish national a ...

, pointing upwards.

Decoration (regular size)

Made of eight pieces *Metal:

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

*Minting: 5 micrometre polished

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

-plating *Weight: 54 grams *Diameter: 6 cm

Decoration (miniature size)

Made of three pieces *Metal: Bronze *Minting: 5 micrometre polished silver-plating *Weight: 14 grams *Diameter: 1 cm

Ribbon

*Color: Red

Criteria

During war or peace, it is bestowed upon individuals whose contributions to the strengthening of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have been extraordinarily high. In other words, it is awarded to any individual that has served national interests with exemplary determination and has contributed greatly to the prestige and strength of the TAF. This encompasses any military, scientific, material or administrative contribution, in or outside the territory of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, that has been greater than any of that person's predecessors thanks to his/her great courage and self-sacrifice. The medal can be given to civilians or soldiers, regardless of nationality. Its bestowment is proposed by any of the Commanders of the four branches of the TAF, namely the

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 ...

, the

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 ...

, the

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 ...

or the

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

(with the exception of the Commander of the fifth branch, the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

). The outcome of any proposition depends on the approval of the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

References

TAF website with a list of its medalsTurkish Army website with a list of its medals

External links

{{Orders, decorations, and medals of Turkey Military awards and decorations of Turkey * Awards established in 1967 1967 establishments in Turkey