The National Security Medal is a decoration of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

officially established by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in Executive Order 10431 of January 19, 1953. The medal was originally awarded to any person, without regard to nationality, for distinguished achievement or outstanding contribution on or after July 26, 1947, in the field of intelligence relating to the national security of the United States. On October 2, 2015, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

amended Executive Order 10431 to award the medal to any person for distinguished achievement or outstanding contribution made in the field of national security through either exceptionally meritorious service performed in a position of high responsibility or through an act of heroism requiring personal courage of a high degree. Two additional sections were added to the original order. Any individual may recommend a potential recipient as a candidate for the award to the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council. If the Executive Secretary of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

determines that the medal is warranted and following approval by the President, the Executive Secretary shall notify the

Office of the Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a cabinet-level United States government intelligence and security official. The position is required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head o ...

who will then process the award recommendation, prepare the medal and deliver it to the

for presentation to the recipient. The National Security Medal is authorized to both civilians and personnel of the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

and is an authorized decoration for display on active duty uniforms of the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

. In such cases, the National Security Medal is worn after all U.S. military personal decorations and unit awards and before any military campaign/service awards and foreign decorations. Additional decorations of the National Security Medal are denoted by a bronze

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

Notable recipients

* Avi Berkowitz * William Joseph Donovan * Allen Dulles * David M. Friedman * William F. Friedman *

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and retained b ...

* Richard Grenell * Michael Hayden * Richard Helms * J. Edgar Hoover * Lawrence R. Houston * Clarence Leonard Johnson * Jared Kushner * Edward Lansdale * John McCone * Steven Mnuchin * Robert O'Brien *

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American retired politician who served in the First presidency of Donald Trump#Administration, first administration of Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fr ...

* John Rakolta * John Scott Redd * Kermit Roosevelt Jr. * Frank Rowlett * Wendy Sherman *

Walter Bedell Smith General (United States), General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith (5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961) was a senior officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forc ...

* William O. StudemanFormer DDCI Admiral Studeman Feted at Retirement Ceremony — Central Intelligence Agency
Cia.gov. Retrieved on 2010-12-30. * William H. Webster * John T. Hughes

References

{{reflist Security Medal, National Security Medal, National Awards established in 1953

Notable recipients

See also

References