Today, the Department of Defense announced the results of its year-long review of the military decorations and awards program to ensure continued appropriate recognition of the service, sacrifices, and actions of its service members while maintaining the historical legacy of the awards program.
The department’s review focused on combat and valor recognition utilizing lessons learned over 14 years of combat operations. Among the key changes was:
• Implementation of new goals and processes to improve timeliness of the Medal of Honor and other valor awards;
• Standardization of the meaning and use of the “V” device as a valor-only device to ensure unambiguous and distinctive recognition for preeminent acts of combat valor;
• Creation of a new combat device (e.g., “C” device) to distinctly recognize those service members performing meritoriously under the most arduous combat conditions;
• Adoption of a common definition of Meritorious Service Under Combat Conditions to determine eligibility for personal combat awards;
• Introduction of an “R” remote impacts device to recognize service members who use remote technology to directly impact combat operations.
The complete list of changes to the military decorations and awards program can be found at: http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/Military-Decorations-and-Awards-Review-Results.pdf. These changes will be implemented over the next 12 months.