Humanitarian Service Medal
One way new military awards come into existence is by Presidential Order. President Ford authorized the creation of a new military award to add to the medals of America which he called the Humanitarian Service Medal on January 19, 1977. Like most medals of America, these military ribbons and medals are available to active duty personnel in all branches of military service, including authorized activities by soldiers in the reserves, and cadets in the military training academies. Recipients of these US military medals must perform a humanitarian action in a distinguished and meritorious manner. The award of these military medals and ribbons could result from activities like, evacuation of civilians from a natural disaster area or from a combat zone. Recipients must actively participate in, or be an on-site member of a military unit that actively participates in, the humanitarian action to be qualified for consideration.
Like most other military medals and ribbons, there are several reasons a potential candidate would be deemed ineligible to receive the Humanitarian Service Medal. If soldiers were attached to a unit, but geographically separated from the actual site of the relief action, they would not be eligible. Candidates would also be exempt from consideration for these military awards if they had received the Army Forces Expeditionary Medal, or the Armed Forces Service Medal during the same period of service. If the soldier’s action only involved regular law enforcement activities for property protection, or civil protests and domestic disturbances, or if the soldier performs service otherwise deserving of this military decoration but does so in a private capacity, he or she would also be ineligible for the Humanitarian Service Award.
Should soldiers from any of the five branches of military service be awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal more than once, service stars would be given after the first award to denote the additional honors. Each bronze star represents one additional award, and a silver star represents five additional awards. The Humanitarian Service Medal is normally worn below the Korean Defense Service Medal and above the Air and Space Campaign Medal in the general order of precedence which the military services have established for the proper display of all military medals and ribbons.
The Humanitarian Service Medal is generally available for all five branches of service, and can be worn as traditional full size military medals and mini medals, military ribbons and lapel pins. It is available as traditional slide-on, full size military medals or mini-medals, and slide-on military ribbons, among other forms. Nowadays however, more and more military service personnel are realizing the value to their career goals of always having their uniform decorations looking their best, and have turned to the slimmer and trimmer thin military medals and mini medals and the ultra thin military ribbons to provide them with the smartest looking military award displays possible.
