Talk:Inter-service awards and decorations of the United States military

Homeland Security Awards
Hello all. I understand that the Homeland Security Award recently added is now eligible to be awarded to any member of the military, but the decoration itself is clearly classified as a civilian award (Department of Homeland Security) which is awarded to military service members. Per DoD regs, the definition of an inter-service military award is "a decoration created by the Department of Defense which is presented to all five branches of the military through the same eligibility requirements". Between the lines, the award also should not have the name of one of the branches as part of the title, i.e. "Army Commendation Medal" - even through the ARCOM can be awarded to other branches of the military, it is still not an inter-service award.

Back to this topic, a good comparison would be the NASA Space Flight Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They too are awarded to all military branches but are not inter-service military awards. -15:17, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

(added): Looked at the regs again on this - it has a weird standing as a civilian award only awarded to military personnel. Maybe put it in the War on Terrorism section to clarify its not a Coast Guard decoration accidentally added to the article? (that's what I first thought) -OberRanks (talk) 15:21, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

Award has been moved down into the War on Terror section to clarify its status as an inter-service award for all five branches engaged in the conflict. I think that's where it should be. -OberRanks (talk) 15:26, 8 June 2013 (UTC)


 * OberRanks, Thank you for re-adding the award and for reading the executive order on this issue; it helps to keep personal opinion out of the discussion. Your examples above are good points to make.  Due to all of the orders, regulations, instructions, etc. that cover these issues, it is probably up to us as to how we define "inter-service."  However, I would not use the name of the award as a criteria; if we were to do that the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, etc. would not be eligible for they have part of their department name (DoD) in their title.  Although the title of the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal has part of the DHS title in it, the award name relates to why it is awarded.  Since its re-designation in 2011, it has been awarded to Gen Craig R. McKinley (USAF) for "exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility" in the protection of the homeland as Chief of the National Guard Bureau.  It is equal in precedence to the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and is not awarded for the same reasons as the GWOT medals.  Under  and its 2011 amendment, the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal has never been a civilian award; from 1992 through 2011, it was only awarded to Coast Guard flag officers and can now be awarded to all military service members who distinguish themselves in positions of great responsibilities in direct support of homeland defense/security.


 * Given the re-designation in 2011, there is much confusion over this award and how it relates to other military decorations. Additionally, I know from many edits on these award pages that some struggle with the idea that DHS has a member of the U.S. Armed Forces under its purview and that the Coast Guard is a member of the U.S. military, unlike NASA.  Thus, if the introductory sentence to this page "Inter-service decorations of the United States military are military awards that are issued by the U.S. Armed Forces..." is not what we want this page to be, we need to rework this page.


 * With all that said, I'm removing the medal from the GWOT section, since it is not at all the same thing and is an opinion based edit, recommend we change the section titled "Department of Defense military decorations" to "Department level military decorations," and added the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal between the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Defense Superior Service Medal. If there is still disagreement about DHS and the USCG armed forces/military status and its military awards, let's discuss further. --McChizzle (talk) 14:36, 9 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Points made in the last paragraph sound good to me. Key point is to avoid the appearance that its a USCG/DOHS award accidentally added, and clarify its status as an award for all five branches.  I like the idea of "Department level awards", as you described. -OberRanks (talk) 16:58, 9 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I can get on board with a Department level awards section with Defense and DHS having subsections, or just changing the heading to be "Department level awards" with the DHS DSM coming after the DDSM. It makes sense to me.  EricSerge (talk) 21:04, 9 June 2013 (UTC)


 * There should be no misunderstanding about the Coast Guard's status as a branch of the US military as Section 1, Title 14, U.S. Code clearly states, "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times. The Coast Guard shall be a service in the Department of Homeland Security, except when operating as a service in the Navy." However, DHS is a civilian branch of the government, so it would seem to me that any awards they issue would be by their very nature civilian awards, regardless of whether military personnel are eligible to receive them.  There are many awards that can be given by civilian organizations to military personnel as previously mentioned; that does not make them military awards. -- PushkinsBarber  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.101.252.103 (talk) 09:47, 28 August 2013 (UTC)


 * PushkinsBarber, I agree with what you have said; however the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal can only be awarded to a "member of the Armed Forces of the United States," (i.e. the military) as ordered under Executive Order 12824 and its 2011 amendment. Thus, as amended in 2011, this award is now a joint military decoration and has never been authorized for awarding to civilians. --McChizzle (talk) 00:25, 29 August 2013 (UTC)


 * DHS Distinguished Service medal is no more a civilian award than the Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a civilian award. EricSerge (talk) 04:24, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

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