Cross for Length of Military Service

The Cross for Length of Military Service (Croce per anzianità di servizio militare) is a military medal created by the Kingdom of Italy which then passed to the Italian Republic. Created in 1900 and updated or reformed in 1953, 1966, 1972, and 2010, it is a seniority award which recognizes lengthy honorable service in the Italian armed forces.

History
King Victor Emmanuel III created the Cross for Length of Military Service by royal decree on 8 November 1900 to decorate military personnel of all ranks of the Regio Esercito ("Royal Army") and Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") for long and meritorous service. When created in 1900, it replaced the by-then-obsolete Piedmontese-style chevrons of the uniforms of the era of King Umberto I, standardizing the decoration on a larger scale in step with the evolution of Italian military uniforms.

Eligibility
The Cross for Length of Military Service was a seniority medal, awarded strictly for length of honorable service. When created in 1900, it was divided into three classes, but a fourth class was added by royal decree on 15 June 1912. The four classes were:


 * Silver cross for enlisted personnel who had served for 16 years;
 * Silver cross surmounted by the royal crown of Italy for enlisted personnel who had served for 25 years (added in 1912);
 * Gold cross for officers who had served for 25 years;
 * Gold cross surmounted by the royal crown of Italy for officers who had served for 40 years.

Medal
The medal consists of a Maltese cross in gold or silver, depending on the class, with a disc in the center bearing the crowned monogram of Vittorio Emanuele III ("VE") on the obverse and the years of service in Roman numerals on the reverse ("XVI", "XXV", or "XL"). The crowned crosses are surmounted by the royal crown of Italy in silver or gold, also depending on the class.

Ribbon
The medal was hung on the chest with a green silk ribbon, divided down the middle by a white stripe. A gold (for the gold cross) or silver (for the silver cross) crown on the ribbon with a diameter of 6 mm distinguishes the crosses with crowns from those without when only the ribbon is worn. The founding royal decree of 1900 did not allow wearing of the ribbon without the medal, but a royal decree of 1906 modified this, giving the bearer the right to wear only the ribbon.

History
The Kingdom of Italy's legislation governing the Cross for Length of Military Service remained in force even after the fall of the monarchy and birth of the Italian Republic on 2 June 1946. The Italian Republic first defined its version of the medal only in 1953. A 1966 reform established that the cross was awarded to officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted personnel of the Italian Army (’’Esercito Italiano’’), Italian Navy (’’Marina Militare’’), and Italian Air Force (’’Aeronautica Militare’’) and had the following classes:
 * Silver Cross for officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted personnel who had served for 16 years;
 * Silver Cross with star for enlisted personnel who had served for 25 years;
 * Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers who had served for 25 years;
 * Gold Cross with star for officers and non-commissioned officers who had served for 40 years.

Medal
The Italian Republic's 1953 legislation altered the appearance of the medal from that awarded by the Kingdom of Italy. The republic continued the practice of awarding a Maltese cross in gold and silver, depending on the class, but eliminated the crowns above the crosses and replaced the royal monogram "VE" on the obverse of the kingdom's medal with the abbreviation "RI" (for ”’’Repubblica italiana’’” — "Italian Republic") in a disc in the center of the cross. On the reverse, the republic continued the practice of indicating the number of years of service in Roman numerals ("XVI", "XXV", or "XL"). The Maltese cross is 32 mm wide.

Ribbon
The ribbon is 37 mm wide and identical to the kingdom's ribbon in that it is green with a white stripe in the middle. However, in the 1953 legislation, the republic eliminated the crown from the ribbon and replaced it with a 6 mm star when required by the class of the medal, in either gold or silver, depending on the class of the medal.

In 1972 a gold turreted crown was introduced, 4 mm high and 6 mm wide at the top, tapering to 4 mm wide at the base, to be affixed to the ribbon of the Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers with 25 years of service.

2010 reform
Legislative Decree Number 66 of 2010 repealed all existing legislation regarding the Cross for Length of Military Service under Article 2268 and absorbed it under Article 1464 into Articles 857 and 858 of the Regolamento ("Regulation") without substantial changes. It continued the authorization for personnel to wear the ribbons without the respective medals unless the medal is expressly required.

The 2010 reform also made a distinction between graduati (literally “graduates,” an Italian military term roughly corresponding to "junior non-commissioned officers") and non-commissioned officers of a higher rank, corresponding to what other countries might consider "senior non-commissioned officers." It redefined eligibility as follows:
 * Silver Cross for officers, non-commissioned officers, graduati, and enlisted personnel with 16 years of service.
 * Silver Cross with star for graduati and enlisted personnel with 25 years of service;
 * Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers with 25 years of service;
 * Gold Cross with star for officers and non-commissioned officers with 40 years of service.